


Stay

by HK44



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Cunnilingus, Established Relationship, Fighting, Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Relationship Reveal, Sex, Vaginal Sex, trans!damian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-24 00:35:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13799658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HK44/pseuds/HK44
Summary: “Where’s Evil Robin?” Dick prompted.Damian stuck the batarang into his belt. “There were two of them. Duke followed the other after he ran away like a coward.”Dick paused. “So it’s Duke now?”Damian turned to Dick and smiled. “I like saying Duke more than I like saying Thomas."





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> HAHA YES I WROTE A HALLOWEEN-ISH FIC AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. In my defense, I actually started it last June and then wrote and rewrote most of it over the course of the last two months.
> 
> ENJOY!

 

When Bruce entered the room, he entered to find all his children, one cousin, and a few persons that were close enough to be family, scattered around. Dick looked him over, smiling at the confusion, fear and disturbance that lingered in Bruce’s eyes.

“What happened?” Bruce said immediately after his sweep of the room.

Kate looked up lazily from where Cass was playing with her hair. “Halloween planning,” she said. She sighed low and titled her head back into Cass’s hands. “Just scratch a little- _yes_.”

Dick kicked her ankle. She sent him a look and glanced back at Bruce, who’s eyes were tightly closed, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You understand that statement tells me nothing, right?” he asked, finally walking all the way in and settling on the arm of the couch where Damian was tucked down low. Absentmindedly, he slid his fingers through Damian’s hair once.

Damian didn’t protest but snuggled down deeper into the cushions.

Below him, sprawled out on the floor, Stephanie looked up at Bruce and gestured down at the list in front of her. “We’re swapping costumes that night.” She looked down at the list, tapping her pen to the floor. “Uh, so far Duke’s decided on Damian’s Robin, Jason said he was gonna be Dick-”

“Which version?” Bruce ask, voice as dry as the desert.

Dick lobbed a pillow at him.

He dodged it with ease, sending Dick a slow smirk as he brought his cup to his lips. Stephanie reached out and snagged the pillow with her fingertips before bringing it under her chest. “Nightwing,” she said. She frowned. “We think anyway.” She pointed in Jason’s direction. “He passed out before I realized we should probably clarify between past and current costumes.”

“Personally, I’m hoping he goes with the original,” Babs teased. She unwound her spool of yarn, eyes grinning over her glasses. “I miss those shorts.”

“I always knew you were perverse, Gordon,” Damian muttered. He crossed his arms and dug himself deeper into the cushions until his socked feet were pressed into Duke’s thigh. “I have decided to be Batman for the night, Father.”

Bruce made a vague noise into his cup.

“Right,” Stephanie said. She balanced her pen on the bridge of her nose. “And, uh, Cass is Tim. Red Robin.” Twisting her head carefully so she could make eye contact with Bruce without dropping the pen, she grinned. “And then we stopped due to arguing over who gets Cass’s costume for the night.”

Tim’s head shot up from where he was laying at Barbara’s feet. “I’m Cass!”

Stephanie lobbed her pen at him. “She’s my girlfriend, Tim.”

“You were already a Batgirl.” Tim snapped his fingers. “It’s my turn.”

“What if it’s actually my turn?” Dick suggested.

They both sent him scathing looks then turned on each other. Stephanie pointed vaguely at Tim as best she could from her position on the floor. “I’ll kill you, Tim. I got Damian on my side. And he’s coocoo bananas. I’m guaranteed the win.”

“Since _when_?” Tim spluttered.

“Sine he decided your head would make a nice mantel piece!”

Damian snorted but his smirk was pleased. Tim rolled his eyes but still scooted a ways away. “Bruce, make Stephanie stop picking on me.”

Bruce just gave him a look and eyed Stephanie’s list. “Who wants Duke?”

Kate raised her hand. “I’ll do him.” She swatted Dick’s foot at his choked laugh. “Renee thinks my breasts look fantastic in yellow, anyway.”

Damian rolled his eyes but Duke choked on a laugh, gripping Damian’s ankles as he sniggered into his palm. Kate winked at him.

Producing another pen from nowhere, Stephanie marked the list again. “Alright then. That leaves Jason, Cass, Kate, Alfred, Babs and me.” She rolled on her back and waggled her eyebrows at Bruce. “What do you say, Bruce? I think _your_ breasts would look great in purple.”

Bruce’s eyes were about as dull as the black he insisted on wearing every day. “Fine.”

Stephanie whistled low and rolled back over, scribbling down SPOILER besides Bruce. As she did so, Babs spread out her in-progress scarf and examined it carefully. “Alfred and I will switch. Only logical since we’ll be stuck down in the Cave anyway and-” She shrugged. “Don’t really have costumes to wear.”

“Shame, Miss Barbara,” Alfred said from his armchair, Alfred the Cat purring on his lap. “I was looking quite forward to a dressing down.”

Barbara held her knitting needle under her nose. “Mustache.”

Alfred circled his fingers over his eyes. “Glasses.”

“Well, if they’re switching with each other, I’ll just switch with Jason,” Dick said, easy. “I kind of miss wearing red anyway.”

“You’re not gonna wear Jason’s Robin suit?” Babs asked. She pouted. “The _shorts,_ Dick.”

“I think the shorts will show his dick, Babs,” Jason muttered into his pillows as he rolled over, his back to them. Stephanie glanced up at him, her jaw falling opening to ask, but he was already snoring before she could question which iteration of Dick he was planning on playing.

Stephanie scowled, grunting as she pulled herself up ever so slightly and dumped the pillow onto Damian’s squashed lap. “Well, okay, that leaves Kate and Cass and, as I said before, I think, as Cass’s one and only, I should be the one dressing up as her.”

“Yeah, but Cass and I have a _close_ personal connection,” Tim said. “Something _love_ can’t accomplish, _Stephanie.”_

Stephanie rolled onto her back. “Tim-”

“For fuck’s sake,” Damian snapped. He threw the pillow Stephanie had shoved onto him at Cass. It missed her by a mile but she glanced up at him, eyes low, body calm. “Who do you want in your costume, Cain?”

Cass looked over all of them before her eyes finally settled on Tim and Stephanie. After a few moments, she pointed at Tim before running her fingers back through Kate’s hair.

Stephanie grabbed her chest. “ _Betrayed_ ,” she whispered. Louder, she continued, “ _BETRAYED_. By the love of my _life.”_

“I thought I was the love of your life,” Tim muttered.

Sitting up, Stephanie pointed at Tim. “No, Tim, you’re the heathen who stole my virginity.” She turned to Cass. “Cass is the heathen who stole my love.”

“Can I be a heathen?” Duke asked.

Damian kicked his thigh, lightly. His lips etched down into a slighter scowl than they had been. The movement was soft, his socks and pants blending in with the couch’s exterior and if it weren’t for Dick’s eyes focused on the two of them, the way Duke had been holding Damian’s ankle ever since his foot had dug into Duke’s thigh, and how Damian had never bothered to remove it, despite his aversions to being _gripped_ , he wouldn’t have noticed. Duke’s thumb slid under the end of Damian’s sweatpants, the fabric moving for only a second as he rubbed Damian’s bare ankle.

Dick glanced up at Bruce but he was busy, stooping over and filling out the final two slots in Stephanie’s _betrayed_ absence. And Tim was hidden away beside Barbara’s wheelchair.

Dick glanced over at Cass as Stephanie pushed off the floor, groaning all the while. “Figure out something to be the heathen of and I’ll consider it.”

Cass’s eyes ghosted from Duke and Damian to Stephanie. Her lips quirked up into a slight grin before she dropped her gaze back down to Kate’s hair.

And for the quietest second, Dick wondered if she’d seen what he had.

\--

Tim pulled back Cass’s old Batgirl mask and glanced around. “Anyone heard from the zombies?”

Kate shook her head as she walked past them over to Alfred who was setting up the camera and its tripod. “I told them we were getting pictures.”

Dick pushed up his Red Hood mask. “You give them a timeframe?”

“Before patrol,” Kate said easy. She sent Dick a _look_. “And given that patrol on Halloween always starts the moment the sun drops, I figured they’d know what that meant.” She clicked one leg of the tripod into place. “I’m surprised Damian’s not already here though. He’s usually prompt.”

“He went over to Jason’s for something,” Duke said. He tightened the laces of his boots and stood up. “I dunno what. He wouldn’t say.”

“Did he take his bike?” Dick asked.

Duke shook his head. “Jason picked him up this morning.”

At that, Dick frowned. Ever since gaining his license, Damian refused to let other people take him anywhere. Those refusals grew sharper the more he had to do. He hated to be late to anything and he never was. At least not by his own design. And Dick knew that if Jason was his ride back to the manor, Damian would harp on him like a cranky old man if he kept Damian waiting. And Jason, while sometimes lacking in timeliness, didn’t like to be nagged excessively and probably also knew the risk of Damian stealing his bike and leaving him behind if he took too long.

So.

They definitely should’ve arrived by now.

In front of them, Kate and Alfred had finished with the tripod and camera. Barbara was wheeling around the damp grass, organizing everyone. Tim hopped onto the stool behind Dick.

It felt like a class picture.

Barbara frowned, massaging her chin in thought. Her fake mustache wrinkled under her nose. She pointed at Bruce and moved him down beside Duke. Her frown grew deeper.

Dick knew why. Without Damian and Jason being present in-person, she could only imagine how to set up the image with them in mind and what she was envisioning clashed too hard with what she saw, she was struggling to feel comfortable with her decision.

But Babs was smartest woman Dick knew.

The picture would look amazing.

If Jason and Damian ever arrived.

He slid his hand into his pockets and pulled out his phone. Flipping through his message, he frowned. Nothing. From either of them. Just a single message from Wally, talking about imaginary ice cream flavours. He was just about to type out a quick “WHERE R U????” when an engine’s roar blared into his ears.

“Finally,” Stephanie muttered from behind Bruce, cracking her knuckles out. She leaned her arms on top of Bruce’s head, who twitched, only partially annoyed. Her chin rested on top of them. Her lips fell down into a frown, eyes narrowing. “Wait a minute…”

The light had already fallen to a dim dusk and the house cast a rather long and impressive shadow across the yard. Still, through the darkness, Dick could see Damian and Jason’s figures stride long across the grass. There was something off about them.

Jason was big, had been ever since he’d come back, but Dick knew that the Nightwing suit was slimming and Jason wasn’t that huge. Still, he seemed bulkier than normal and noticing that sent a spike of nervous panic through Dick’s head. And beside him, shifting slower and slower, Damian didn’t seem anything like he had the last time he’d taken time out to be Batman. His silhouette didn’t gleam a lengthy trench coat and when the breeze fluttered by, a cape slung out from his shoulders, shorter and much thinner than what Bruce’s was like.

When Jason stepped into full visible light, Dick suddenly understood.

Jason wasn’t playing Nightwing tonight.

 _He_ was playing Batman.

Bruce’s cowl fit over Jason face, the jut of his jaw almost mimicking their mutual mentor. The long drape of the tell-a-tale black cape curled around his arms while he walked towards them, relaxed and comfortable. He glanced down at Barbara, who squinted at him vaguely before pointing at the open spot beside Dick.

Jason slid into place and Dick had never felt so dwarfed in his life, Tim high above him and Jason towering beside him. At least Tim’s sudden height would be reversible.

At everyone’s questioning stare, Jason shrugged and crossed his arms. “Brat traded me,” he said.

Dick’s eyes immediately cut over to Damian who’d paused just behind Barbara’s wheelchair, stooped over to fix something. Alfred’s eyes were widened in surprise.

When Damian finally stood back up and stepped out from behind Barbara’s wheelchair, Dick understood why.

Damian was not dressed as Batman. Or Nightwing. Or _Mullet-_ wing as Jason liked to call that brief stage.

He was Robin.

Dick’s robin.

Pixie boots. Bright yellow cape. Tight tunic.

Small, green booty shorts.

The whole. Damn. Deal.

And he looked _ridiculously_ attractive decked out like that.

Barbara looked him over, her eyes stilling on the shorts for much longer than necessary, though Dick assumed it was more out of shock than anything else, before she blinked back over to the small cluster of people before her.

“Uh, between Dick and Duke.”

A pleasant grin slipped over Damian’s mouth as he walked forward, each stride paced and measured. Before he slid into place between Dick and Duke, he paused, taking in Duke’s new costume. He grinned wide and, as he stepped into the slot Barbara had given him, said, “You look good in my clothes, Thomas.”

Duke snorted, fixing the domino mask over his eyes as Alfred readied the camera’s timer. “Yeah well, can’t admit I enjoyed tying up the boots.”

Barbara wheeled into place between Duke and Damian’s legs just as Dick heard Damian murmur, low, “Maybe I can help you with that next time.”

Bruce’s stance beside Duke seemed to stiffen, but his eyes didn’t move from his steady gaze at the camera and he said nothing. Alfred quickly walked over, placing a pair of Barbara’s glasses over his face. He knelt beside her, between Dick and Damian.

The flash went off.

And as his eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, he could’ve sworn he saw Duke’s hand glide over the curve of Damian’s ass.

He blinked, his gut curling, rephrensibly.

“Drop the mask,” Jason said, pushing Dick’s mask down. “Moron.”

Another flash went off.

And Dick was left wondering what the intensity of Duke and Damian’s relationship actually was for the billionth time.

\--

Dick dropped down into the alleyway. It was only occupied by Damian, an unconscious man and a woman, who smiled lightly, snatched up her purse by the man’s feet and ran off without a word.

Damian kicked the mugger’s hand off his foot, scowling.

Dick leaned against the wall. “So. Stuck with the Robin moniker.”

Damian glanced over his shoulder at him. “Are you offended?”

“No! No, no,” Dick said quickly. He dragged his eyes up from Damian’s legs as the _boy_ , because he was a _child_ , walked over to him. “I mean, I just, I thought that you were, you know.” He licked his lips. “ _Batman_.”

Damian shrugged, turning around. In the streetlight, the shorts stretched over the swell of his ass sparkled.

Dick cut his eyes to the sky.

“I like being Robin,” Damian finally said. He bent over and swept up a batarang. Dick cursed God himself and any other deity he could name for extra measure. “Besides, I don’t want a taste for anything I can’t _keep_.”

Well, that didn’t sound right, or anything like Damian, but it was evident from Damian’s tone that he wasn’t going to reveal his true reasons for dressing up as Dick’s Robin. Dick’s gut curled as his mind spat out a quick speculation of why.

He pushed away from the wall and strolled over to Damian. Initially Damian had paired off with Duke, the two of them disappearing into the night together before anyone could protest. Bruce had seemed uneasy. The moment he had the chance, he’d sent Dick to go find the two of them.

He didn’t say his real reasons. Simply that he wanted to make sure they weren’t horsing around.

“Where’s Evil Robin?” Dick prompted.

Damian stuck the batarang into his belt. “There were two of them. Duke followed the other after he ran away like a coward.”

Dick paused. His initial reaction was to ignore it. Damian said their first names more frequently now and again, though any mention of it was sure to have Damian scowling into his tea and focusing more carefully on what he let slip through his lips for weeks after.

Besides, he should be reprimanding Damian for using names on patrol. Damian was supposed to know better. He always called out the rest of them when they slipped up.

But a burst of jealousy sidled hot and fast through his mind before he could catch it and the words tumbled out through his lips hot and fast. “So it’s _Duke_ now?”

Damian paused, an uneasy line to his shoulders. Then the tension faded quickly. He turned to Dick and smiled. “I like saying Duke more than I like saying Thomas,” Damian said, voice hushed.

Then he turned around, hit his grappling hook out onto the nearest structure and flushed away through the air.

Leaving Dick to stand there sullen.

So, _Duke_ , who’d only known Damian for a few years got the privilege of his first name being _liked_ by Damian versus Dick, who’d known Damian for almost a decade now. Who’d trained him. Who’d nurtured him.

Who did his best to see through Damian’s flaws and his anger and teach him out to be calmer, be _better_.

Who still got referred to as Grayson on a daily basis. Even in Damian’s softer moments, Grayson was Dick’s name. Not Dick. Not Richard. And Damian had never said anything about _liking_ Dick’s last name versus his first.

But Duke got the likeability.

Not even _preferred_. Like the way it rolled off the tongue was easier, simpler. No, Damian _liked_ saying Duke.

 _Liked_.

Dick’s stomach plummeted with the thought.

He scowled, jealousy wracking through his skin. He knew was irrational. Duke was a good person. He deserved to be one of the people Damian actually liked.

 

“So Spoiler seems pretty hard-set on making sure Robin the First and Robin the Evil don’t pair off together,” Jason noted patiently from where he stood on the roof beside Dick.

Behind them, a low argument was stemming. Damian was attempting to pair off with Duke again, who seemed just as willing a participant, while Bruce was insisting vehemently that they needed to separate for specific reasons.

His reasons were getting worse and worse as the argument went on.

It must’ve been awkward for Bruce, Dick considered.

When he and Babs started dating, Dick had just come out with it right away. And then with him and Kori. And then that brief stage with Garfield.

And Wally.

And then back to Kori _and_ Babs.

And each time, Bruce had just stilled, his eyes seeming to search the air for a reason to get out of the conversation.

As far as Dick knew, Jason hadn’t had any flings before he died and he doubted Jason would’ve told Bruce about any of the relationships he’d had after he came back. Tim’s whole thing with Stephanie was complicated but they’d been going out when Tim had shown up so any awkwardness that might’ve been would’ve been distilled immediately.

But Tim had started dating again and every time he mentioned it, Bruce’s face always paled, like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. And Tim’s brief stint in crush prison regarding Dick had just been awkward for all three of them.

Even Cass wasn’t left out of the discomfort, every time she touched Stephanie or kissed her cheek gently in front of Bruce had him wincing.

But at least, none of the above, even _Tim_ because Dick would never stoop that low, hadn’t dated each other.

Duke, while not blood and therefore, by Damian’s standards, not really Bruce’s son and not really anyone’s brother, was still Bruce’s ward, even if only by fostering. And Damian was his son.

And they weren’t exactly being _subtle_.

And all of this, their too-close-for-comfort proximity, Damian’s tight-ass shorts, Duke’s clear hints at bondage every time he mentioned the boots and their laces – all of that dumping on him at once must’ve been _hell_. At least Dick, Tim and Cass had the nerve to be considerate and hint around their relationships or crushes before spilling it on him, accidentally or on purpose.

Damian and Duke seemed hellbent on torturing him instead.

Dick chewed his bottom lip, finally turning to watch the debacle before him. It wasn’t like Duke to do something like that, so he was obviously taking lead from Damian. And Damian was normally outright with things. Never public, but even when it came to his brief fling with Colin, something which lasted all of a day and didn’t even surpass much more than some light fondling, he’d informed them all of it the morning after it happened, even after Bruce had choked on his coffee.

The fact that he was choosing _now_ to be a little shit was odd.

Dick rubbed his shoe to his ankle.

There was another reason for it. Not because he wanted to get under Bruce’s skin or because he was testing the waters of Duke’s attraction to him, which was so _damn_ clear it would’ve made no sense for him to keep testing.

“Do you think they’re dating?” Dick asked.

Jason glanced at him. “Who?”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Original and Evil.”

Jason paused. Looked out at the two leaning close together. Crossed his arms. Stroked an imaginary beard. Then _finally_ said, “I dunno.” He shrugged. “I mean, Evil’s mentioned he thinks Original’s got a cute nose but other than that…” He glanced back at Dick. “Why?”

Dick shrugged. “Just seems like there’s interest there.”

Jason hummed. “Well, maybe. I mean, I was pretty surprised when the kid showed up this morning with this.” He gestured at his suit. “And then he popped out of my bathroom with _that_ get-up.”

Dick blinked. “I thought you said he traded you.”

“He did,” Jason said. “At the last possible minute. All I know, is I’m five seconds away from the Cave when the kid pops out of nowhere and tells me he wants to trade me Batman for _you._ Thought to myself, “Alright, calling out to the original mentor.” That or he couldn’t find whatever trenchcoat he wore the last time he played swap-up.

“So I’m thinking, alrighty, I’ll just go down and pick up one of Spoiler’s costumes, they should fit me fine, similar build and shit, but Original Robin tells me to go home and take him with me. He’s got the costume for me already and needs to do some shit in the city,” Jason continued. He scratched his bottom lip. “I do. Then he comes back about twenty minutes before we have to leave mind you, walks into my bathroom like he owns the place and comes out looking like _that_ and I’m thinking Spoiler is gonna have a conniption when he sees it.”

“Did you ask him why?”

Jason snorted. “I had a lot of thoughts on my mind and most of them were designating me to hell, Night Hood.” He flicked Dick’s mask. “I wasn’t saying anything out loud until that got sorted.”

Dick bit his lip.

So, he wasn’t the only one affected by Damian’s sudden change in clothing. That was good. Made him feel even the slightest bit better about being awful and horrible and focusing too much on how neatly the shorts framed Damian’s ass.

“Fine!” Damian finally snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. Bruce relaxed immediately, though Duke’s fists tightened briefly in his gloves. “Batgirl, let’s go.”

Tim winced and muttered something under his breath, the words faintly a curse at Bruce in Dick’s ears while he walked off the roof, following Damian’s lead. The two of them vanished into the city.

Jason leaned into Dick’s side. “Evil Robin looks annoyed that they can’t fuck in an abandoned alleyway anymore.”

Dick choked. “ _What_?” he hissed. “Don’t say that!”

Jason’s lips quirked. “Relax, Night Hood. I was kidding.” He stretched, groaning as he popped the kinks out of his back. “Aside from, like, ten seconds of actual consideration, who would wanna fuck Damian for reals anyway?”

Dick didn’t answer the question, turning to look back at Duke, who’d stalked over to an empty corner and was messing around with something on his phone. Every so often, he glanced up in the direction Damian and Tim had vanished off in.

And Dick couldn’t help but wonder if he was the answer to Jason’s question.

\--

“I think we’ve got a situation,” Duke’s voice hissed through the coms, tone urgent.

Bruce’s voice cut in immediately. “What’s going on?”

“One of the abandoned warehouses down at the docks near fifth. Looks like a bunch of kids are being corralled inside.” Duke’s breathing changed, going slight as something creaked on his end. “Not in a good way.” Another creak sounded. “Something’s happening…”

There was a faint silence, broken only by Duke’s breathing, and then a shrill noise pierced through Duke’s communicator.

Duke swore and jerked backwards as Dick stilled. Kids played down at the docks all the time, especially teenagers and college kids looking for somewhere solitary to get high or drink. But he couldn’t name the amount of times, he ever checked them out on patrol and found them going inside the warehouses and he definitely couldn’t name the amount of time he ever heard any of them scream like _that_.

“Yeah, something’s going down,” Duke breathed hard. Another shriek broke through accompanied by several faint screams and shouts. “Send backup.”

He clicked off before anyone could say anything, his line turning to static.

Bruce’s voice cut through, serious, concerned. “Robin? Robin?” When Duke didn’t answer, Bruce’s jaw clicked, the noise so familiar to Dick’s ears, he could pratically see the way it was set in front of him, downturned and annoyed. “Everyone rendezvous at Robin’s location. We’ll discuss what to do once we have the scope of the land. Cave, can you tap into any security?”

Dick started running towards the docks as Barbara said, “I did. We can’t really see anything though. Looks like most of the cameras have been spraypainted.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Stephanie grumbled, her voice breathy. “That’s never good.”

Damian sucked his teeth. “Of course, it isn’t, Batwoman. We’re on our way, Father.”

\--

Dick glanced at the door. It was half boarded it up, but looked like someone had kicked their way through. There were three warehouses that had been emptied and left to rot after their structure was deemed unstable. As far as Dick knew, they’d been scheduled for demolish sometime before the year was up, though speculation rang in the newspapers that the buildings would crash in on themselves before any of that could happen.

He couldn’t fathom what kind of idiot would drag kids into a building that could crush all of them at any second.

They hadn’t met up with Duke either, though they’d all waited on the outskirts of the buildings and tried getting him to respond through the coms. His locator had been turned off and he never responded.

Immediately Bruce called Jason, Kate and Cass to come. It was clear something was happening and whatever it was had snagged Duke into it’s clutches.

A scream broke out ahead of him, high and desperate and disturbingly familiar. Dick jerked into action, slipping through the open crack and shuffling through the dimly lit warehouse. Light burned in from the holes in cieling and walls. He pressed his hand to his coms, saying, “I’ve got a kid screaming here” just as Jason whispered, “Heard some guys talking in Warehouse 8.”

Both of them fell silent. Then Tim hissed, “They split them up?”

“Maybe I’m hearing it from the other one,” Dick said. “These buildings are connected right?”

“No,” Cass murmured. “I heard it as well. Someone is here.” Her voice fell quiet then whispered, “More than one.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jason grumbled.

Dick squeezed his fist tight. Why after nearly twenty odd years of the minimalist and pettiest activity did something have to be occurring _now_?

“We’ll deal with this on our end and call if we need help,” he said. Cass made an affirming noise on her end before clicking off. Dick released his coms and began walking carefully towards the space the noise had echoed.

The one thing he hated about Gotham was how big everything had to be. Bludhaven was large but the buildings never really seemed endless. Or as condemned to be his end.

Another shriek broke out, closer, louder, and he ran to it, footsteps light from years of practice despite Jason’s clunky boots. He felt soundless, weightless, and peeled to a sharp stop just outside the place where the noise had come from. In front of him hulked a short stout body clad in white. The person’s head glanced around carefully, not noticing him as they peered from side to side.

Dick edged closer, breaths silent. He couldn’t see anyone else in the room but that didn’t mean anything. He couldn’t count the number of times he thought he’d been duped, only for the person to shift, revealing some tied up kid hunkered down in front of them, too small to see if you were coming up right behind the person holding them hostage and too in pain to make any more noise until forced.

Their arm flexed, he could the tension in their back as something _clicked_ , and another shriek echoed through the dusty walls.

Dick lunged, catching the person’s arm and yanking them back. A tape recorder fluttered out of their hand, hitting the ground with a pathetic _clack_ , and his stomach dropped as he saw no one hunkered down before them.

They’d been tricked.

His eyes snapped back to the person in question, but they’d wrenched their way of his grip, taking off. He chased after them, hearing through the blood pounding in his ears their voice quickly hissing something to someone else.

“Just do it!” they shouted, vanishing down a corner. Dick peeled after them, his gut clenching tighter as he considered the familiarity of the voice.

How similar it toned to the scream they’d played on the tape recorder.

Without pause, his mind tumbled over the reason _why_ both of them sounded so familiar, why anyone would record _themselves_ screaming. He slid down the corner, glancing around rapidly.

He’d lost them.

 _Shit_.

Breathing hard, he squeezed his eyes shut, ready to inform the others of what had happened when a slight echoing shuffle caught his attention. Dropping his hand to his side, he ghosted towards the noise, listening faintly and keeping his steps quiet. He twisted out of the room, down another hall and held close on a corner, breathing low as the shuffling stopped.

He shoved his hand into the inner pockets of Jason’s jacket.

The voice cut through the silence. “I think I lost him,” they said. He closed his eyes, running a list of tallies of all the people he knew who had such a light voice. “Yeah. Okay.” A pause and their voice hushed to annoyed whisper. “Well, if you guys hadn’t decided to leave me here by myself, I wouldn’t have- Oh, go fuck yourself. This is so not my fault.”

Dick pulled out a pair of cuffs. They were magnetized and separated with small bat emblem burned on the outside and a GPS tracker chipped inside.

“Because he didn’t give us enough time!” the voice said. “Look, as a former assassin, I value time and planning and also money, but most importantly time.”

Dick’s brows furrowed. _Former_ assassin?

“Yeah, I get it, okay? The plan changed because Bruce’s a dick and blah blah blah and barf, whatever. Just- fuck, where are you?” Their voice relaxed. “Okay good. See you soon.”

Dick’s eyes snapped open and he swirled around the corner, chucking the cuffs at them. They jerked at the noise, defecting one of the cuffs off to the corner but the other had locked onto their chest’s armour. Dick darted forward while the person froze, hands moving to the cuff.

The light shifted as he moved. He stumbled to a stop, catching sight of the mask before him. There were changes to the suit, small changes. But her mask was still the same.

“ _Maya_?” he asked, lost, confused and somewhat concerned

She threw a punch at his face, landing the blow clear on Dick’s cheek, then tore the cuff off her chest with a loud grunt. It flew in his general direction but he dodged it and, ignoring the throb to his face, chased after her again but she’s melted into the background of their surroundings. All he could hear was her footsteps pounding.

And pounding.

Growing closer.

And-

He dodged out of the way, flipping over the scattered remains of rot and pushing up against the wall.

That was-

“ _Colin_?” he spluttered as the behemoth continued to storm down the warehouse doors.

At first sight, he had no idea if it was. The being wore more clothing than Colin tended to as Abuse. But still, if it _was_ him, and if that _had_ been Maya, there was no way that it was a coincidence that Damian’s _friends_ just happened to be the people they were after. Dick took a breath and peeled himself off the wall.

“What are you planning, Damian?” he muttered under his breath.

Halloween was always the night of low-activity. Not only was _everyone_ was out on patrol, but there were always the spare few people who took to their costumes completely. After a few years, the rogues of Gotham seemed to realize there was more to hiding in the shadows and staying there for the day versus actually doing something that was going to get them beaten up by both Batman and his equally buff look-alike.

So it could be assumed Damian had planned something more interesting for tonight, using his friends to help out, even if such a thing seemed beyond Damian, who took all patrols too seriously no matter how low level or minor they wound up being.

But the reason why still eluded Dick. If was to get at Duke, then the patrol itself should’ve been eno-

Beside him, just a hair away from his arm, a red beam shot down. It scorched through the wooden floor and right into the ground. Dick jerked out of the way again, looking up but whatever it was, vanished from his sight.

Jon? _Jon_?

He was in on this too?

Dick stretched his arms and beat down the hallway. Damian was still tapped into their coms so there was no way to explain to everyone else without alerting him too. He needed to find someone else, fast.

Damian’s games always had a weird tendency to go awry and turn violent.

A hand caught the back of his jacket. He whirled around, catching the person by their arm.

Cass stared at him. “ _Dick_.”

He exhaled through his nose and released her. “Cass, do you know what’s going on?”

She nodded, lips pressed tightly together. “Jon attacked me earlier.” She frowned. “He was not Superboy.”

“Yeah,” Dick said. He rubbed his arm. “I think Damian’s doing something.”

Cass frowned. “Kill us?”

Dick blinked. “Well, _now I do_.”

Cass opened her mouth, probably prepared to refute her earlier statement but her eyes widened behind her mask and her hands shoved Dick away fast. Air brushed past his face. Cass grabbed whatever it was she was pushing him from, grappling with the invisible figure.

Dick reached out to help but Cass shouted as she blasted backwards.

Dick ducked the second blast, headed right for him. Something to stop the cloaking.

Anything to _see_ her.

He ducked behind a pillar and thought. His jacket rubbed at the base of his neck, riding up on the pillar’s rough concrete.

He paused.

His jacket.

He threw himself out from behind the pillar, dodging the sonic blasts aimed at him, as he tugged his jacket off. He threw one of the guns tucked into his pocket, plastic and fake, towards where he thought she’d stood. It hurtled fast, hitting nothing and clattering down beside Cass.

Cass stood to her feet, her body poised.

And within seconds she was on Maya.

Dick darted around them, looking for opening. He could barely tell where Cass was hitting and every time he thought he had a shot, Cass was charging forward again or stumbling back to avoid a blast or a hit.

She lengthened out Tim’s bo staff and stabbed forward, striking downwards. Dick ran forward, throwing out his jacket on Maya’s head. It cloaked over her just barely and she threw it off with ease before grunting loud enough that he could hear it as he threw his weight on top of her.

Cass shed her cape as Dick grappled with Maya, trying to search for her hands. Just as he snatched at them, Cass had shoved her cape over Maya’s head, clasp intact and yanked Dick off of her. A blast  slammed the ceiling.

Maya was gone before the first panel of wood hit the ground.

But it was easier now that she had the cape on. Dick scooped up his jacket as Cass chased after Maya. He followed quick, footsteps barreling over rotted wood and broken chips of concrete.

In his right ear, Jason shouted, “OKAY, WHO ELSE IS FIGHTING PYSCHED VERSIONS OF DAMIAN’S GANG OF BRATS?”

Tim’s voice cut in, grunting. “So, it’s not just us?”

Dick dodged around a pillar and cut Maya off just as she’d finally undone the clasp and chucked it off. She barreled into him, Cass collapsing atop them both, her voice hissing low in victory.

Maya grunted, her cloaking shutting off as Cass pulled back, Maya’s arms tied tight behind her back.

“Maya, what the hell is going on?”

Her mask retreated back and she grinned loose at Dick. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes, I would, that’s why I’m asking.” He grabbed her jaw, made her look him in the eyes. “Did Damian put you guys up to this?”

She licked her lips. “Think, _dummy_. Who called in about _hostages_? Certainly, wasn’t Dames, now was it?”

Dick stared at her. “ _Duke_?”

She winked at him. Then Cass was scattering back just before Maya’s blast could hit her. Before Dick could grab her, she was gone, hoisted up into the air by Jon, dressed in his civvies but still wearing his cape. They vanished before Dick could say or do anything.

Cass panted beside Dick. She frowned. “Duke?”

But that didn’t make any sense. Why would Duke-

Dick swiveled on Cass, the last person he knew had been with him. “Where was Damian the last time you saw him?”

She paused, eyes narrowing. Then took off opposite the direction Maya and Jon had gone.

\--

They didn’t find Damian where Cass had left him to chase after Jon. Cass’s fingers skittered up the side of her face, glancing off her mask but never pressing her communicator.

Dick’s fingers padded over his phone, tucked safely away in another interior pocket. _Babs, Damian missing. Something going on w/ friends. You see him on cams?_

After a minute, she replied back. _Was dragged down to end of docks by something big twenty minutes ago. Can’t tell what. Camera’s spotty there. Trying to control earlier but something keep interfering. Interference cleared just few seconds ago._

Dick grit his teeth. _Text Kate. Tell her grab others, meet us there. Chance whole thing was joke._

He pocketed his phone before he could see her response, though it vibrated softly against his side, like a protest into the confusion

They exited the warehouse, skirting down to very end of the docks, where large footsteps had made deep dents into the gravel walkway. The footsteps had vanished part of the way but their focus was intent on the building at the end. As far as Dick knew, it was old processing building that had gone belly-up sometime when Jason was still Robin but Dick hadn’t grasped the Nightwing mantle just yet.

It’d always been meant to be sold but historical groups had been arguing over its historical importance for years. He was never sure if they won but figured as long as the building was still up and wasting space, those groups were winning in some way.

The cameras attached to the front door, put there after complaints of vandalism, zeroed in on them but he ignored it, walking through the door cracked open. The building was empty but smelled like wet dog. Rusted machinery

Cass grabbed his wrist and pulled him down towards a hallway. They passed by empty offices. Dick craned his head, glancing inside each but nothing glimmered. Cass tugged on his wrist, stilling in front of what looked to the be door to a small storage room. It was lightly cracked.

Behind it, he could hear heavy breathing and a low groan.

Cass’s fingers tightened over his wrist.

When Dick eased open the door, he wasn’t really sure what he was expecting. Damian pinned up against a wall while Duke kissed him was definitely not his in top ten though. Damian’s head was titled back, soft noises wheezing out of his lungs as Duke kissed down his throat. When he shifted just the slightest bit, Dick could see red laces tying up his arms behind his back.

Cass stiffened beside Dick, her hand falling from his wrist to his side.

Obviously, she was not expecting that either.

Dick had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Clear his throat? Cough? Yell?

Throw something?

Good thing Cass was there.

She stepped inside the tiny room and said, “Hello.”

Damian’s eyes snapped open, but his mouth grinned wide. He eyed from Dick to Cass and smirked. “Are you here to save me?”

Duke snorted. “As if you want to be saved,” he murmured into Damian’s skin.

Damian rolled his eyes but before he could say anything Dick gripped the bridge of his nose and hissed out, “What the fuck is happening?”

Duke peeled away from Damian, settling him back on the ground. “I wanted to try out being a villain.” He grinned down at Damian. “Wasn’t bad.”

Dick stared him. After a few seconds, he finally spluttered out, “ _What_?”

“Well, given my new position as Evil Robin for the night, I figured I should embrace the name,” Duke said, loftily. “So I hit Abuse, Nobody and Superboy up, paid them in pizza and now I have an army to attack you guys with.” Duke turned on Damian. “See? You could’ve succeeded if you had friends.”

Damian rolled his eyes and pushed Duke away, who laughed and caught him round his waist. Cass pointed at Damian’s ties. “Why?”

“Well, given Evil Robin’s original stance on murdering all incarnations before him, I figured I should go the same way.” Duke nuzzled Damian’s cheek. “Get rid of the Evil Robin before me.”

“If you continue to refer to me in such a way, I will annihilate you,” Damian laughed.

He laughed.

A genuine sound.

Dick’s stomach curdled. It soured further as Duke’s arm tugged Damian snug into his side and Damian didn’t resist the hold.

Grinning, Duke said, “I had them ambush him and tie him up for me to finish off. But he bargained his way out of the chair.” Duke jerked his thumb over to the wooden chair was sat pristine in the center of all the boxes. Cuffs sat open at the legs. He gestured back at Dick and Cass. “But now you guys are here so destroying him will need to wait a moment while I get rid of you two.”

Damian snorted, his cheeks still flushed.

Cass glanced over at Dick, shrugged and readied herself into a fighting stance.

Meanwhile Dick was still struggling to understand what was happening. Duke had constructed this entire plan, to what? Kiss Damian? To get Damian to admit he liked him under the pretenses of escape?

What kind of bullshit plan was that?

“I still don’t get-”

Someone barreled into Dick, sending him flying into the floor. He rolled over, groaning, and wondering just how Jason landed on his face so many times and didn’t wind up with a thousand cuts and bruises from the mask.

Gotham Girl, _Claire_ , hovered above him. She dropped to her feet and grinned.

“Oh, yeah,” Duke added. “I also called up _my_ friends. Though, they wanted cash because they’re _heathens_.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “I had an awesome night of no powers and horror movies planned,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face. “Damn right, I wanted cash.” She nodded at Cass. “Hey, Tim. I didn’t know you grew out your hair.”

Cass grinned, teeth bared wide, before darting forward. Claire slipped back, nearly stepping on Dick’s crotch. He rolled out of the way before one of her heels could impale him and jerked upright. Cass, taking in what she knew about the situation, was fighting with ease and fun.

Of course, she was. Claire’s powers were tied to her life. What was the point of making her kill herself over a game?

A really, _really_ stupid game.

Dick had barely turned to face Duke, to tell him to call the whole thing off, it was pointless, it was dumb, when a fist came flying at his face. It hit him, right in the jaw, his teeth cutting into his gums. He jolted backwards and gave up.

Duke grinned low.

Damian was still standing against the boxes, unimpressed.

Dick had no idea what either of them were trying to do here but clearly the objective was to save Damian from Duke’s so called “evil” clutches.

Dick could do that. He’d been doing something similar for the past twenty years.

Cass’s fight with Claire had passed through the doorway and back out into the hall so she was no help to him. He cracked his knuckles.

Duke snorted.

And when he did, Dick lunged.

Duke let out a startled shout, caught off guard as Dick knocked him down. His foot bashed into Dick’s stomach. Dick ignored the sharp stab of pain and struggled to wrestle Duke, keep him down. A burst of blinding light smacked him right in the eyes.

He yelled and fell back.

Duke stumbled to his feet, grabbing Damian and hollering, “Keep ‘em busy, Claire!”

“There’s only so many people I can punch at one time, Duke!” Claire shouted back, elbowing Cass and slipping out of the headlock. Her fingers grazed Dick’s back but he ducked out of her reach too quick, backing up and out of the room as Cass knocked her back down with a  victorious laugh.

Dick wrestled though the pockets of Jason’s jacket, pulling out one of the guns, insisted by Jason for “image purposes”. Dick had only taken one and filled it with rubber bullets, choosing to load up on his regular supply of things instead but _now_ …

He froze, hearing the low of Damian’s voice ghost to his left.

Now he wished he’d packed a little more.

He rolled around the corner and shot at Duke’s leg.

Duke laughed as the bullet caught through the illusion shattering it. He jogged backwards, Damian held in his arms, princess style. “I can’t believe you actually took his gun.”

“They’re rubber bullets,” Dick grumbled swiftly, twisting on the real image. Duke ducked around the corner and the bullet hit the ground, a second too late.

Dick followed, breathing hard as he chased Duke down the hallway. Duke was fast, never as fast as Dick though and with the extra weight, Dick closed in quickly, aiming at his thigh once more.

He shot and hit it perfectly.

Duke tumbled to the ground, swearing vehemently, twisting before he landed so he fell on his back, Damian protected from impact. Damian blinked up at Dick blearily as Dick grabbed him, pointing his gun at Duke’s chest and feeling a little bit cool but also weirdly horrible at the same time.

“Now what the hell is going-”

He cut himself off, shifting back, Damian still gripped to his side. A burst of light enveloped Duke’s whole body, the air _simmering_ around him. Dick swore and decided that _maybe_ he could question Duke later.  He ran back through the hall, dragging Damian along the way.

They slipped down corridors, between empty offices and into an abandoned printer room near the entrance. Finally feeling like he was far enough out of Duke’s way, Dick grabbed Damian who was leaning against the doorway, spun him around. His hands tugged and yanked at the red laces tied around his arms but the knots wouldn’t give. He grit his teeth and chucked Damian over his shoulder. “How do I win?”

“Defeat _Robin_ ,” Damian huffed as he squirmed. “I can walk, _Night Hood_.”

“I know,” Dick said. He began running down the hall, clicking into his coms. “Spoiler?”

Stephanie’s voice chorused over Bruce’s for a split moment then Bruce was hissing on his own, “Please tell me you know what’s going on.”

“Yeah, yeah, explain in a bit.” He twisted down a corner. “Where are you?”

Jason voice cut in before Bruce could answer. “Please tell me you found Original Robin so I can kill him because I swear- _KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF, SUPERBOY.”_ Jon’s voice echoed, laughing low in the background. Jason’s voice came back. “I’m gonna rip his throat out. I want everyone to know that.”

“It’s not him,” Dick wheezed as he froze and dropped Damian down.

He pinned Damian up against the wall, hiding his flashy outfit into the shadows. God, _what_ had he been thinking with this outfit? Why had Bruce though it was a good idea? He should’ve just gone with Spooky and been done with it. Batman and Spooky, a beautiful duo. Beautiful and _dull_.

He dropped his voice to a whisper. “It’s Duke.”

A clamour of voices chimed in, all yelling some kind of variation of, “ _DUKE?_ ” and “THE FUCK?”

“Why?” Stephanie asked. She let out a little grunt. “And tell me fast. I think Maya might be winning.”

“I don’t know,” Dick grumbled, voice still low.

A footstep echoed somewhere nearby, skirting quieter and quieter. Damian’s face burst into a wide grin and he ducked his head down, pressing his shoulder to the side of his mask. Dick heard the click of his com pop on.

And then, “He wants to fuck me.” Over the lines someone choked – _Bruce_ , Dick thought quickly, the sound far too familiar - and in the background, someone else yelled out in pain. Damian’s grin fell wider and his eyes locked onto Dick, something _straining_ at him, tense and fierce. “I’d like him to.”

Duke’s laughter fell into the coms then vanished sharply.

Dick dropped his hand and grabbed Damian, who clicked out. “What the hell, Damian?”

Damian shrugged. “He has a nice face. I quite like it.” He smiled plainly. “You should duck.”

“What?”

Something smashed into the side of his face. Dick fell off to the side, caching sight of Duke heaving Damian into his arms. Damian didn’t resist. Just grinned wider, teeth bared as he slung his arms around Duke’s neck.

“Oh no,” he said, voice emotionless. He nuzzled Duke’s ear with his nose. “I am being captured by a fiend.”

Duke laughed, eyes glittering as he spun around, focused on Damian. Dick pushed off the ground as Duke just skirted backwards, nearly _bouncing_ on his toes. “Well, I’m gonna take my prize and _split_.” He spun on his heel, darting down the hall. “Catch me if you can!”

Dick spat out the blood welling in mouth.

For a moment, he considered it. But relented, scuffling backwards, towards the sound of a loud battle. He pushed through the door to the room everyone was kicking halfheartedly at Damian and Duke’s friends.

He pointed at Claire as he tugged Cass off her. “Explain, now.”

Claire’s eyes sparked amused but she shrugged, locking her arms behind her back. “You really wanna know?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Bruce growled from where he stood, doing nothing and yet somehow still too imposing despite being decked out in bright purple.

Claire brandished her hands out in front of her. “Okay, it goes like this. Damian and Duke have been dating for a while now and you-” She pointed at Tim. “-made some stupid comment on Damian never being in a relationship for whatever reason, I wasn’t there, and that made them both realize that _despite_ you all being intense _detectives_ or whatever, _you didn’t know they’d been dating_.”

Maya sniggered, peeling Colin from Jason’s grip. “Damian was pretty annoyed too, by the way.”

“Why did Duke orchestrate this?”

Colin wrapped his arms around himself. “Oh, there was a different plan and stuff, but you separated them and sent Damian off with Tim so we had to change things up. So really, _this-_ ” He gestured loosely to the room around them. “-is your fault.”

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. “I mean, why is he doing this _at all_?”

“Three reasons,” Claire said. “One, to prove he could handle Damian or some crap and then, ya know, get down and dirty.” Jon let out a little giggle at the phrase, to which Claire shot him an amused grin. “Two, as I said, to let you knuckleheads know that they’ve been going at it for the last few months but y’all were too blind to notice.”

“Did you just say _y’all_?” Jason asked, pressing a hand to his chest, voice half-horrified.

She shrugged. “This is gonna last until midnight. Once November starts, Duke “wins” and Damian remains at his mercy.” She grinned. “I think Damian’s excited for that.”

“Stop talking,” Bruce cut in, his voice low, annoyed.

Maya rolled onto the back of her heels. “Don’t get prissy. If any of you paid any _attention,_ you would’ve noticed. They’re not obvious-obvious but-” She shrugged. “-it’s there.”

“Yeah,” Jon laughed. “They didn’t even tell me. I just figured it out. And _I’m_ probably around Damian the least.”

“Forgive us if the thought of Dames shacking up with someone never seemed plausible,” Stephanie said dry. Her face screwed up. “Oh my god, that sounds so bad.”

Colin rubbed his arms. “Maya’s right. You guys suck.”

“Hey!” Stephanie pointed at him. “Damian’s a tiny demon. Growing up does not change that. And who falls in love with a demon?”

All four of the people in front of them turned and stared at Bruce. He grit his teeth, voice as barren and dead as the desert. “Talia was not a demon and neither is Damian.”

“Spoiler-woiler, he literally called himself the Demon’s Head for like five years,” Stephanie said. “Even if Talia wasn’t, little bat definitely is.”

“Grew up,” Cass said. She looked over at Claire. “Right?”

Claire grinned. “ _Precisely_.”

Bruce shook his head. “Look, just tell us where Duke and Damian are.”

Claire looked at her watch and frowned. “Can’t.” She waved her wrist at them. “It’s not midnight yet.”

Bruce took a step forward, voice raised without words falling out. For a few short seconds, it was like time had slowed. Cass’s eyes widened. Dick could see every muscle shift in her body as she twisted around, darted over and shoved Bruce back.

Then time snapped forward, the roof slamming down as something shot into the building out of nowhere.

Kenan pushed his hair back, waving. “Sorry, I’m late.”

Jon pumped his fist into the air. “Superhero landing!”

Kenan fingergunned at him, looked around quickly and then at Claire. “Time to go?”

Claire jumped onto his back. “Hell yeah.”

None of them could even start, yell, run forward or _do anything_ before Colin had thrown himself onto Kenan’s side and Maya had flipped into Jon’s arms. She saluted them, her mask falling shut over her face.

“Well.” Kenan waved at them all gently. “Bye.”

And then they were gone, Jon and Kenan flying their respective people out of the area and into the night sky open in the hole above.

The air was silent around them before Jason dropped his head from where he was staring to the wall in front of him. “What the _fuck_ just happened?”

“I never thought Duke would be this weird,” Kate said. She turned to Bruce. “This is your fault somehow.”

Bruce said nothing to that, body stiff. Dick twisted, turned to face him. “B- Spoiler, it’s really not that big a deal. Please do not freak out.”

When Bruce finally spoke, his voice was level, clear. “I am not freaking out. I’m just concerned about the city. We came here on fake information for _a game_. Something serious could be occurring and we would could’ve been there to stop it.”

Barbara’s voice cut clear through the coms. “Yeah, that’s a fair assessment, Spoiler, but it doesn’t look like anything’s happening. We’ve been monitoring everything since Evil Robin called in the situation.”

Tim shook his head. “This doesn’t sound like Damian. Or Duke. There’s no way either of them would’ve done this for a _prank_.”

“That’s true,” Jason said. He crossed his arms. “But-”

“Beast Boy,” Dick said, the memory of a bird cutting across the sky, far too close to him than any bird had ever crossed near him before. In the light, the creature had almost looked _green_. Dick had taken it as a trick of the light, everything rushing by him as he was flying through the sky, hanging onto his grappling hook. He flexed his hands. “He called in the Titans. I saw Garfield earlier.”

“You did?” Tim asked.

“It was fast but-” Dick bit his lip, frowning. “You’re right. Damian wouldn’t have let this whole thing happen without making sure the city was still being properly overseen and crime’s been down in Jump City. Kori mentioned it last time we talked.” He began fishing through his pockets for his phone. “I can call her and see if-”

“DICK, MOVE!” Barbara shouted.

He jolted out of the way, skittering backwards, blood pressure skyrocketing as something dropped down from the hole. Above, he could hear Jon’s laughter, light and bubbly.

“Spoiler, I need you to tell Superman, his son is going to die,” Jason grumbled as he drew back from where he’d fallen to a crouch, several feet away.

Tim popped his head out from behind Jason’s back. “It’s probably _not_ a bomb right. If Superboy dropped it off?”

To answer him, the tiny ball in front of them split open, sending a yellow glow. After a few seconds, a video flashed on. Duke was sitting in a chair in a dim room. He wasn’t wearing his costume. Instead he was clad in a black shirt, with the Bat symbol peeking out from it.

He’d worn that last night.

“Hello, family,” he said, voice deeper than normal. He sounded like an announcer. Someone behind him snorted. He ignored them. “I’ve come to kill what is important to you.”

Damian’s voice shot out. “Is _that_ how you think I talk?”

Duke swiveled around in his chair. “Little bit.”

A sword shot out, barely inching against Duke’s skin. “I’ll kill you.”

Duke grabbed a pencil from the desk and pointed it at Damian. “I’ll kill you,” he repeated, horribly mimicking Damian’s accent and tone.

Damian snorted but withdrew his blade. He passed by the screen, sheathing it and vanishing out of view again. Duke learned back. “I’m gonna chuck it out if you don’t keep it up _for decorative purposes_.”

Damian passed by the screen again, ducking down to press a soft kiss to Duke’s forehead. “Continue with your threat, beloved.”

Duke grinned up at him and patted his cheek. Once Damian vanished off screen again, Duke turned back around, his face serious. “Alright, here’s the gist. I’ve got Damian. You don’t know where. I have a team that’s ready to attack you. If you can find and stop me from “killing” him, then you win the game and I’ll give you this.” He pulled out a shiny metal plaque. “The Ultimate Detective-slash-Genius.”

Damian’s face ducked in out of nowhere. “He stole it from a semi-decent TV show.”

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the peak of human comedy!” Duke said, sounding exasperated. “It’s rated right above the Office but slightly down from Parks and Rec.” He swatted at Damian’s waist. “Get out of the way. I’m threatening your family.”

“How do you know you’d even get me?”

“Because I am determined, tenacious and you _want_ my dick, fool.”

Damian snorted and vanished out of view. “Not the dick I want,” he said, voice teasing.

A grin slipped over Duke’s face. “Unless you want to give me advice on threats, get out.” He swiveled back around. “Anyway, you can totally win this cool-ass plaque and lord it over me that I’m just as predictable as Claire once said _and_ you can ask us whatever the fuck questions you want, or you lose, I keep the plaque and you’re never allowed to ask me and Damian anything about our relationship ever.”

“Please lose!” Damian shouted.

Duke rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He waved at them. “Enjoy my tiny army.”

The video cached out, the ball slapping shut.

Once again, the air was utterly silent around them. Then Jason said, _again_ , “What the fuck just happened?”

“Damian has been a terrible influence on him,” Kate said. “On the bright side, Damian’s less psychotic so maybe this is good and not as weird as I keep thinking it is.”

“It is weird because it’s Damian and Duke or weird because it’s boys?”

Kate shrugged. “Both?”

“Sounds about right,” Tim muttered. He grabbed the ball. “So what do we do? Play their game or what?”

“I want to play,” Cass said. She shrugged. “Want the plaque.”

“So, Cass is in.” Tim pointed at Stephanie. “Steph?” Stephanie’s eyes was narrowed down, a frown set on her face. She wasn’t focused on the conversation. Tim cocked his head. “Steph?”

“What did Damian mean?” She cut her view up to Bruce. Then her eyes slipped over to Dick. “Not the dick I want?”

Bruce let out an exasperated noise. “Does it really matter?”

“Yes, it does,” Stephanie said. She stepped out, staring at Dick. “Claire said there were three reasons why Duke did this but never said the third reason because _someone_ had to be offended over a stupid word. And it was _Damian’s_ idea to switch up costumes tonight.”

“It was?” Kate said. “You were the one-”

“I brought it up but he was the one who suggested it,” Stephanie said. She turned to Jason. “And he was the one who goaded you into picking Dick.” She frowned and crossed her arms. “Then just randomly switched with you on the day of? With a costume ready for you and everything? And just so happened to have a costume for himself?”

Jason frowned but said nothing.

Stephanie looked back at Dick. “He was talking about you. They put this idea together to _screw_ with you.”

Dick’s eyes snapped open wide. “ _What_?”

“He put on _your_ old costume, a costume he’s degraded _time_ and _time_ again, to what? Turn on a boy he _clearly_ already had?” Stephanie gestured rapidly at Dick. “He was testing you!”

“Testing me for what?” Dick snapped. “There’s no way I would-”

“Not to make you,” Kate cut in. She tapped her bottom lip. “Just to see if you _were_.”

“Were what?” Dick gripped his hands into fists. “He’s half my age! I’m not- He’s-” Protests were falling short on his mouth. Finally, he spluttered out, “We’re brothers!”

“Damian doesn’t care about that,” Tim said. He turned to stare at Dick with the rest of them. “Yeah, he acknowledges we’re family _now_ but in the same way, Steph is our family. Wally is family. Clark is family. Blood is the only thing that matters to him, the only thing that’s _true_.”

“I-” He turned to Bruce, waiting for a lifeline, something to save him from this pit they were all digging around him, but Bruce wasn’t looking at him. No, he steadily looking everywhere _but_ Dick. Dick’s blood shot cold. “Bruce, come on, there is no way I’d ever even-” He shook his head and pointed at Stephanie. “I am not interested in Damian.”

“You were upset,” Cass cut in. She crossed her arms but her tone wasn’t accusing. Still, it shot discomfort to his core as she went on. “Earlier. You were upset when you saw him with Duke.”

Even Cass was turning on him?

“I didn’t- That’s wasn’t-” Dick grabbed the sides of the mask, feeling exposed. Like they’d strapped him down, torn off his skin and were dissecting him, piece by fragile piece. “Everything was confusing. I was upset because I didn’t know what was _happening_. Not because I am attracted to Damian and certainly _not_ because of _jealousy_.”

“You’re lying.”

He pushed up his mask, storming forward until he was in her face, so she could see every word fall out of his mouth. “His experiment _failed_. I am not interested.”

He was lying.

He could tell the moment the words passed by his lips, the truth suddenly obvious and just as exposed as he was. He recoiled back from Cass’s blank stare. He tried again, tried to make the words _real_. “I am not…”

His voice faded.

His gut dropped.

No.

 _No_.

Damian was a kid. Seventeen and legal by the law but still too underage, basically a child compared to Dick. And Dick, Dick had practically raised _him_. Had _fucking_ entertained the idea of becoming his _dad_ for a fun spell.

And what? Because he wore a pair of booty shorts one night, Dick was suddenly interested? He was suddenly so terrible, Bruce, _Bruce_ , who was like his _dad_ , who was like his _brother_ , couldn’t even look him in the eye?

Dick shoved the mask down. “I’m going home.”

“What?” Jason said from behind him.

“I’m leaving,” Dick repeated. “Have fun playing their game without me.”

Bruce’s voice cleared behind him, concerned, worried. “Dick-”

Dick’s stomach churned but he ran off without another word, without waiting for Bruce to finish his sentence, clicking the buttons of the coms until all that rang in his ear was the soft familiar sound of static.

\--

Dick was perched on top of the Wayne Enterprises roof, his legs swinging over the ledge, mask pulled half up his face.

He had been intending to go home but… he just didn’t. Instead, he stayed out, stopping the occasional attempted mugging and making sure the little kids venturing out on their own for the first time were staying safe.

Still, in the back of his mind, he kept questioning where Duke and Damian might’ve vanished off to. Where Duke would be keeping him.

If he’d begun his “celebrations” early.

Dick glanced down at his watch. Almost midnight. Just another half hour.

“Richard.”

Dick glanced over his shoulder. “Kori.” He patted the spot next to him. “Hey.”

She smiled gently and sat down where he’d been patting. She said nothing about why he was sitting there but just leaned against his side and kept quiet. Her skin was warm where it pressed into the leather of Jason’s jacket and spread through to Dick’s arm.

“Which one of them called you?” he asked.

She paused. Then, “Damian. He said he needed people he could trust to watch Gotham for the night.”

“Did he say why?”

Kori squeezed Dick’s thigh. “He explained. Duke is attempting to bed him through the win of a victorious battle.”

Dick licked his lips. “Did he say anything else about it?”

Kori pulled her head back and looked at him. He almost couldn’t meet her eyes, too ashamed of what she might see in them.

Too embarrassed of what she might know.

Finally, he pushed back the mask and looked over at her. Her eyes were soft, sympathetic.

“He asked if you might have started to view him differently now that he was grown up.” She paused. “I told him I did not know, but that I believed you had.” She caught his cheek in her warm palm. “Dick, he is not expecting anything from you. He made that very clear.”

“You know, I would’ve appreciated a phone call,” Dick said. “Or a letter. Or something.” He looked down out at the city below him. “Not _this_.”

Kori frowned. “He has tried to explain previously. I know because he has asked me for advice.”

Dick blinked and turned back to face her. “What?”

Kori leaned back, looked him over like she was Barbara and wondering if Dick was really as oblivious as he seemed and said, “He has asked me several times how best to approach you about this. He stated it was due to our prior relationships and that he knew I would not tell anyone about the queries.” She smiled light. “And that he trusted my words.”

“No.” Dick looked down at the city, squeezing his knees. “No, he’s never mentioned…”

He faded away, quiet memories spilling into his mind. Damian trying to tell him things. Except each time Dick had been busy. Or not giving it his full attention.

And the few times he’d been free, he’d been able to focus fully on Damian’s words, they were never clear. Vague with Damian eying him so harshly that Dick could only ever respond with a “yeah, I get it” or something similar.

And Damian knew him well enough to know what that meant. He’d even tried to explain himself after Dick’s lost response, but never clearly, never blunt.

But that made sense. Damian had never approached his own emotions with clarity. And Dick had never expressed interest so what was the point of being exact about it, if he was likely going to wind up humiliated and embarrassed.

“Oh my God,” Dick groaned. He pressed his face into his hands and whined again, “ _Oh my God_.”

Kori squeezed his shoulder soothingly and tucked her arm around them, pulling him close. “Do you like him?”

Dick recoiled away so fast he nearly slipped off the ledge. Luckily, he managed to bounce up to his feet, skirting backwards. “Kori!”

“It’s a valid question,” she shot back, standing up. She placed both hands on her hips, looking too much like his mother after she caught him sneaking treats to the elephants. “Do you?”

“I don’t-” He grabbed his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. After a few short breaths, he dropped his hand. “Kori, he is half my age and _legally_ my brother. I _fucking_ raised him for like a year.” He gestured erratically at her. “I mean, fuck, you were there when I said I thought about adopting him as my own! Why would you ask me that?”

She eyed him over. “Dick, you are a man and soon he will be as well. What does it matter the strangeness?”

“What does it _matter_?” he spluttered. “Kori! He’s a _child_.”

“Damian has never been a child,” she cut in. She crossed her arms. “I am not stating that I believe you should sleep with him, though if you did I am quite sure he and Duke would be pleased to share their bed with you.” Dick groaned into his hands, sinking into a crouch, as she continued, ignoring his pain. “I am simply asking a question.” She knelt in front of him, pulling his face from his hands and holding his cheeks warms in her grip. “Do you like him?”

“I don’t know,” Dick admitted. He swallowed thickly. “He’s… _difficult_.” He sighed. “He’s different.”

“But you are attracted to him?”

Immediately Dick’s mind flashed to Damian’s ass in the shorts. Then quickly skipped over to Damian dressed up for galas, tuxedos tailored to fit the unfortunate curves of his body, designed to hide the strange bump of his chest when he was in or out of his binders. To Damian slouched down in Dick’s couch, in nothing but a pair of sweats and a ratty old hoodie Dick had stashed for when Damian would crash over his apartment for the night, how homey he looked, how comfortable, and the swell of pleasure that burned in Dick’s chest at the sight. To Damian leaning into his side, his body warm, voice laughing at something stupid Jon had said from across the table, the squint of his eyes and the way he held himself casually.

How for last year or so, Dick couldn’t help but constantly note how much prettier, how much more handsome Damian had gotten over the years. How he couldn’t stop the increasing pain of jealousy whenever some news headline noted the same things he’d been thinking.

Dick’s stomach curdled. The taste of sour milk built up at the back of his mouth.

But he still admitted, his voice a quiet shame-filled whisper, “ _Yes_.”

\--

Kori left him shortly after, on a call from Garfield, who was squawking about muggers in clown masks. She’d gone to rescue him, leaving Dick to continue brooding in silence.

He had no idea how Bruce managed to do it so often.

It was so dull.

And dreary.

After his confession, Kori had simply embraced him tight, kissing the top of his head until he stopped shaking, upset with himself, angry, embarrassed.

Disgusted.

She’d said nothing, just held, and in the moment, it was enough. It was comforting.

But now that he was stuck on his own again, he couldn’t help but stress on the idea.

He was attracted to Damian.

What did that _mean_? Was it just physical, like it was with Wally? Romantic, like it’d been with Kori? Or was it just the aesthetic, like it still kind of was with Jason?

He couldn’t tell. He didn’t _know_. The information was just still fresh in his mind. But the longer he dwelled on it the more he kept stumbling over the same ideas. That at his core, Dick just wanted to take care of Damian. He’d always wanted that. From the moment, Damian had patiently regarded him and called him Richard, and maybe even before that.

He just wanted Damian to be _okay_ , to be _happy_.

Maybe that was why he had never noticed the way his feelings had shifted. Because he was so _used_ to loving Damian, so used to wanting to make him happy, wanting to care for him, wanting to be close with him, that the idea of it moving from familial to something a little more smooch-worthy hadn’t been clear.

Wasn’t that how it’d been with Wally? So used to be around one another that as they’d grown up in each other’s space, he hadn’t even noticed how pretty he found Wally until they were tangled up on the couch with his hands shoved down Wally’s pants and Wally keening into his ear.

Dick dropped his head into his hands, groaning. He missed the easy days with Barbara and Kori. Being able to see someone gorgeous and _know_ right away instead of realizing it in a humiliating situation with Bruce being there, whether walking in all fatherly concern or having the truth accidentally spilled while he was in the room.

Well, he relented, looking back out into the city, at least Barry wasn’t there too this time.

He looked over to his watch. Two minutes to midnight.

Tense, Dick clicked back into the coms, hearing Jason shout, “YOU FUCKER, NOBODY” and Tim yelling for backup while Jon’s laughter echoed, sounding far too much like a little kid mimicking a villain.

He clicked back off before anyone could notice and if anyone had, well, he wouldn’t know.

Instead he climbed down the fire escape of the building he was perched on and stumbled into the crowd of college kids laughing loudly amongst one another, just another Red Hood in the crowd.

By the time he made it to the apartment building, it was eleven minutes past midnight. Riko was settled on the steps, decked out in her old Robin gear. She smiled up at him. “If you’ve come for the plaque, you can’t have it. Past midnight.”

“I know and I don’t want it,” Dick said. He eyed her over, glancing up to the doorway before squatting down beside her. “Whose idea was it?”

She pushed a hand through her hair. “Duke’s. I don’t know why though.” She exhaled deeply. “All he said was that he needed to prove something to Damian and he wanted you guys to know already, which I thought was weird because how could you _not_ know, they’re literally all over each other all the damn time.” She looked him over. “You really didn’t know?”

“Not a clue,” Dick admitted.

Riko snorted and crossed her ankle over her thigh. “And to think I used to admire you.”

“Hey, I’m still pretty admirable.”

She shrugged. “Maybe,” she said, voice teasing. She looked at him. “You figured out the other reason right?”

“Three reasons.” She nodded. Dick held up three fingers. “Wanting to win Damian’s virginity by defeating him-” He dropped a finger while Riko choked on a laugh. “-wanting to let us know they’ve been smooching for the last how many ever months-”

“Ten months,” Riko cut in.

Dick scowled. _Ten_ months? “-and wanting to let me know that Damian wants to fuck me. Or wants me to fuck him.”

She waggled her finger in the air. “Ding, ding, ding.” She peeled the keys out of her pocket and unlocked the front door, passing Duke’s set of keys over to him as she shoved the door open with her hip. Heat wafted in at them. “They’ve probably already started, just FYI.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Dick muttered.

“You gonna join in?” Riko asked. After the scathing look he sent her, she put her hands up in the air, defensive. “Hey, just wondering. Have fun.” She shoved her hands into her pockets. “Hope you guys can talk out whatever bullshit you need to discuss.” She grinned and jogged off into the night.

Dick juggled the keys in his palm as he headed over to the elevator. If they had started, and had no intention of stopping to let him argue in that he was _not_ going to screw Damian _or_ Duke because they were both far too young and the situation itself was far too complex to mess around with and whatnot, would he join?

Of course not, he thought, stepping out of the elevator and walking off to Duke’s door. He shoved the key into the lock, twisted it and pushed it open. There was no way he was going to-

_“Ahh.”_

Dick’s eyes snapped to the sight directly in front of him.

Damian was arching against the couch. Duke had one hand shoved down his shorts, the other tangled up in Damian’s hair. Neither of them seemed to even notice Dick was there. Or that the door was still open.

He swallowed thickly, words dying on his tongue, as Damian’s eyes fluttered open, pupils blown. He scrapped his nails down Duke’s bare back, a loud groan syphering out of his mouth, like a broken desperate cry. Duke made a pleased noise into Damian’s neck. He ground into Damian’s leg.

Damian dropped his head down, eyes burning into Dick’s.

“ _Richard_ ,” he breathed.

The sound of his voice, out of breath and _hot_ , sent Dick’s stomach curling. Without thinking, he stepped inside and let the door fall shut with a slam.

Duke glanced back at Dick. He didn’t seem bothered by his presence, just turned back around and murmured, “Hey” into Damian’s skin.

His bicep flexed.

Damian’s nail dug deeper into his skin, voice cracking.

“I’m gonna come back later,” Dick said quickly, but he couldn’t get his feet to move, despite the door being right there, viable for escape.

Neither one of them urged him to leave or stay. He swallowed thickly, trying to detract himself from the situation. This was _wrong_. It was _bad_.

They were too young for him.

He shouldn’t have watched.

But he couldn’t move his eyes from where they were stuck on Damian’s face. How his teeth bit bloody into his lips, trying to stifle his own cries as Duke’s fingers worked their way inside him. His feet struggled to keep him upright, scuffing at the floor while he tried to move. Away or closer, Dick couldn’t tell but Duke just seemed to slid his body deeper into Damian’s, his arm flexing until Damian’s eyes squeezed shut and he let out a stuttered groan, whimpering when Duke didn’t _stop_.

And he didn’t ask Duke to stop. Just turned his head and growled something low in Arabic.

Duke laughed in response to whatever Damian had said, his hand slipping from the shorts and curling over Damian’s waist as he pressed his mouth to Damian’s. Damian locked his arms around Duke’s neck, kissing back like Duke was a lifeline.

Like Duke was _air_.

A shiver slid down Dick’s skin.

This was bad. He needed to get out. He needed to _leave_.

When they were seventeen, Barbara had once looked him in the eye, cupped his face gently and told him he had a tendency to think with his penis. He’d argued against at the time but in this moment, he couldn’t help but agree with her.

Because his cock was responding and all the thoughts in his brain were steadying into bad, bad, _evil_ territory.

He wanted to touch.

It was like Damian was ten again and refusing to let anyone even graze him and Dick, Dick who’d spent his entire childhood being coddled and cuddled, who grabbed at Alfred’s hands, who’d grown up splayed out on Bruce’s back, even well into his teenage years, into adulthood, kissed the girls and boys he liked, always touching someone for their warmth, for the comfort, for the familiarity of skin-to-skin contact, had never understood why. Always yearned to pat Damian’s back, stroke his hair, kiss his cheek, _anything_ that he’d been raised, been taught and knew as a sign of caring. He’d always been respectful though, obeyed Damian’s need for space, but the first time Damian had responded kindly to his touch, instead of swatting Dick’s hand away and insulting him, had felt amazing. He’d broken through that barrier.

And he wanted to again.

But this time was a much more _different_ reason.

He swallowed thickly, all too aware of the warming in his lower abdomen. He needed to do something, say something, run away if he had to.

But before he could, Damian was pulling back away from Duke and growling, “Take it off” tugging angrily at Duke’s clothes like a petulant child.

Duke laughed and squeezed Damian’s waist, the tensing in his arms and the hitch of Damian’s breath making it clear the move was _hard_. “Make me,” he breathed.

Damian made a low noise at the back of his throat, snatching up one of Duke’s hands and tugging him off to the bedroom. His eyes glittered back at Dick before he twisted around and shoved open Duke’s bedroom door.

Duke had barely vanished inside before he poked his head back out. “You’re invited to join, if it wasn’t clear,” he said.

He grinned at Dick, all teeth and kind eyes, before disappearing inside. The door remained open part of the way. Just enough that Dick could see the flashes of their shadows and hear Duke let out a low groan as Damian “made” him remove his clothes.

He knew he was supposed to leave. He _knew_ that. Leave, call in the morning and explain over the phone that, no, sorry, he couldn’t join their relationship or whatever, wasn’t interested, sorry Damian, and then promptly avoid them until the day he died, but he could get his stupid feet to _move_.

He felt trapped.

It was a swirl of emotions, that feeling he got every once in a while when he had two clear choices, both desired, both wanted, and he knew that once he picked one, he’d never experience the other, would never know the peace or misery it might’ve brought.

It was like he was ten, his parents death still a fresh bruise and he agreed to go to the gala with Bruce for the fun of it, only to spend the rest of the night wishing he’d been smarter, stayed home with Alfred and read books and watched westerns and listened to Alfred’s droning about proper acting technique.

If he left, he’d leave. He wouldn’t open this door again, wouldn’t even let himself have the option, he knew that. If he left, it’d prove he was strong enough to do so, just like it had when he’d left, joined the police and became someone other than a bratty little sidekick.

But if he stayed, he could be opening doors to something interesting. And the curiosity kept piquing at him. What was Damian like as a partner? Hell, what was _Duke_ like in a romantic setting? How did they get along?

The bet was lost. No one had won. They weren’t allowed to ask questions and if they did, no doubt neither one of them would spill the beans anyway.

This would be his chance to know.

And he was so _curious_ about it. He could see where things went. After all, he’d spent the last few years trying to find someone to settle down with and Damian was not the type of person to let go easily, not mention fool around with multiple partners.

Maybe…

No.

He had to go.

But he didn’t.

His traitorous, traitorous feet moved forward, towards the bedroom, and he swore, as he pushed the door all the way open and stepped inside, that he was going to cut them off.

Duke’s tunic and cape were scattered on the floor. The boots’ lacings were loosened but remained on, as with his tights. Damian’s breaths were patchy as he rolled Duke’s leggings down. He made a low guttural noise, hand stroking over the bulge in Duke’s boxers without patience.

Duke laughed quietly. “Let me get the boots off,” he murmured, pushing back a tuft of Damian’s hair.

Damian’s eyes were dark as he stepped back, settling down on the edge of the bed. He glanced over at Dick, who was stuck in place in the doorway. Watching him carefully, Damian peeled his tunic over his head, letting it fall into the pile with Duke’s clothes. His binder was snug around his chest. Duke stroked a hand up Damian’s stomach, murmured something low.

Damian kept his eyes on Dick as he said, quiet, “Yes, please.”

Dick swallowed thickly.

Peeling off the left boot, Duke dropped it off the side. It landed on its sole, wobbling, while Duke looked through his dresser. He pulled out a thin shirt, handing it to Damian before he tugged off the other boot and laid it down beside the other.

Turning his focus back to Duke, Damian peeled his binder up over his head. Dick’s breaths caught in his throat.

He’d seen Damian naked before, but always fleetingly. It seemed rude to catch sight of him when it was clear Damian did not wish his body to be the way it was and liked it less when people saw him like that. His breasts sagged slight and Damian’s shoulders dipped down, as he let out a soft relieved sigh. Duke caught his face with both hands, peppering his mouth with quick chaste kisses.

His hands ran down over the side of Damian’s neck, over his shoulders and padded down his sides. “Turn around,” he murmured.

Damian stilled, his fingers bunching up in the shirt laid on his lap but after a moment he relaxed and laid down. After a soft second, he closed his eyes and rolled onto his stomach.

Dick thought Duke was going to finish undressing him and begin the play but instead, Duke rubbed his hands over the expanse of Damian’s back, thumbs pushing against the dip of his spine. Damian let out low noises, pleased groans that sent shocks through Dick’s core, fingers clutching up at the pillows in front of him.

Duke ducked his head down, mouthing at Damian’s neck while he massaged him slow.

The moment felt too intimate and Dick’s presence blared a loud intrusion on it. But neither of them seemed bothered by him standing there, entranced with the scene before him.

Damian had often complained about the pain his binder left him in but even at Dick’s own offer to massage him, he refused heartily. Dick’s hand twitched at his side. As though sensing the minute motion, Duke glanced up at him. He said nothing and gestured nothing but the offer lay clear as he leaned back, working his fingers down towards Damian’s lower back.

Dick swallowed and shuffled backwards just enough to make it clear.

He wasn’t going to do anything.

Just watch.

As perverse as an option as that felt, he figured it was the better one. As long as he didn’t touch, there was nothing wrong with looking right?

He pretended like he’d never heard those exact words before from people who were currently in jail for just watching.

Duke pressed a soft kiss to Damian’s lower back before slipping off of him completely. He tugged on Damian’s ankles, pulling him sharply to the edge of the bed. Damian rolled over, his breaths immediately hitched as he stared at Duke who rubbed him through his shorts.

“Sit down,” Damian muttered as he struggled into Duke’s shirt while laying down flat. “Having you just stand there is disorienting.”

It took Dick a second to realize Damian was talking to _him_.

He glanced around, settling down on the wheely chair by Duke’s desk.

Damian’s breaths were hitching louder and louder now, his eyes having long since fluttered shut. Duke pulled down the shorts to Damian’s thighs, his fingers sliding over Damian’s crotch Damian let out a soft whimper, his hips shifting up to rub against him, needy.

Duke grinned. He pulled Damian’s shorts down all the way, throwing them off to the side before dropping sharply to his knees. Damian’s eyes snapped open. He glanced down at Duke then spread his legs without needing to be urged, his voice already keening without being touched.

Duke’s eyes fluttered shut as he kissed Damian’s inner thigh, like the sound of Damian’s voice was enough to get him going. From the distance he sat at, Dick couldn’t see when Duke finally dipped his tongue against Damian but he knew it’d happen when Damian let out a sharp desperate cry.

“You’re always so sensitive,” Duke murmured, shifting.

“Shut up,” Damian breathed, squeezing his eyes tight.

“I like it,” Duke said back, hands running up and down the length of Damian’s thighs as he knelt his head back down and started over. “ _It’s nice_.”

Damian twitched but didn’t let himself fall prey to Duke’s tongue again. Dick gripped his thighs. Then shifted closer until he was just a foot away and in perfect sight to watch Duke’s tongue slip and slide its way over Damian. And Damian just keened, made quiet noises that Dick had never heard him make before, that sent his head whirling and Duke’s fingers clenching tighter and tighter on Damian’s thighs until Damian let out the loudest moan.

The sound was curled and throaty, his hands flying from where they gripped at his shirt to Duke’s head. Hips lifted up and he whined, low and _loud_ , practically grinding up against Duke’s tongue. And Duke just took it all in stride, grinning all the while, as Damian’s whines grew louder and more and more gaspy.

More desperate.

Half on the verge of tears it seemed.

And Dick was fully hard by the time Damian’s voice cut out, his body dropping to the bed. Quiet gasps slithered out of his mouth. His eyes stayed squeezed tight.

Then Duke’s voice, rasped, broke the silence that trickled between them.

“ _You’re so wet_.” In the moment, Dick thought Damian would huff and grumble about it, like he had earlier, but instead Damian let out a soft keen. Duke kissed up Damian’s thigh as he stood up slowly, murmuring, “ _Fucking soaked_.”

And when he dragged his fingers up against Damian’s clit, Damian let out a gasping _wail_.

The words fell out of Dick’s mouth before he knew they were even there. “Stop.”

Duke froze, glancing over at him. He raised an eyebrow.

Dick swallowed. “He needs- You’ve gotten him off, what, twice now? He needs time to relax, cool down.”

Duke shrugged, glancing down at Damian, who was still panting. “Four times actually.”

Damian slapped at his arm then brushed back his hair. “I’m _fine_ ,” he inside, hooking his leg around Duke’s waist and yanking until Duke had fallen right on top of him.

“You’re too sensitive,” Dick argued. “Trust me. I think I have more experience with… _this_ kind of thing.”

“Then _what_ , Grayson, do you suggest be done to kill the time before _we_ can _fuck_?”

Duke laughed into Damian’s shoulder. “Could fuck your dirty mouth? Or…” He glanced over at Dick, dark eyes and mischievous smirk. “You could suck Dick off.”

 Dick cleared his throat, blinked then cleared his throat again. “ _What_?”

Damian’s eyes were already eying his crotch. “Okay.”

 _Wha-_ Dick spluttered. “No!”

“He’s got a great mouth, Dick,” Duke said, rolling over so Damian could rise shakily to his feet. “I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Dick’s face was burning. The idea of _Damian_ with his mouth on Dick’s cock- _Jesus_. He swallowed thickly again, feeling too hot.  He shouldn’t- he _wasn’t supposed to_ \- it was just watching, right? Being a voyeur?

 _Observing_.

He shook his head, his grip tightening on the arm rests. His feet steadied against the ground and he was getting up, he was, he _totally_ was going to get up and explain that this had gone too far, good night, goodbye, and then leave.

And then leave.

He dug his nails into the cushion as Damian dropped with a loud thud between Dick’s legs.

And _leave_.

Damian glanced up at him from under his lashes and spread his hands over Dick’s thighs, a wide smirk spreading slow over his mouth. Dick shuddered.

“Damian,” he breathed but nothing else followed, even as Damian paused to watch him with a careful eye.

When Dick couldn’t finish his thought (did he even have one?), Damian’s grin widened, and he leaned closer in, pulling down the zipper to Dick’s pants. Dick couldn’t stop him, couldn’t make himself _try_ to stop him, and just looked up at Duke, who was watching them both with a low grin as he stroked himself shallowly.

Dick swallowed and struggled to figure out where to stare instead. But as he shifted his glance, his eyes dropped down to Damian, who’d pulled his cock out over the top of Dick’s briefs and was stroking it slow, his hand calloused and warm.

Damian’s eyes flickered to meet his and Dick snapped his gaze away. A weird pot of shame was pooling in his throat. He was supposed to say no. He should’ve been putting a stop to it, argued the two could just make out a bit before getting down to the fun and dirty and then _leave_.

He should’ve left.

But no.

He stayed.

And now Damian was licking the underside of his cock slow and wet and Dick could _feel_ his eyes staring into him.

“Grayson, I prefer to be engaged with when I’m servicing a partner,” Damian said dryly.

Dick scowled and snapped his eyes to Damian. “I’m not-”

Damian swallowed him, mouth _wet_ and hot. At the sudden sensation, Dick jerked backwards, nearly dislodging himself from Damian’s mouth. A grumble of annoyance vibrated over Dick’s cock from Damian’s throat.

Dick groaned. Damian grinned wide and let Dick slip out of his mouth, squirming between Dick’s legs. He gave a long slow lick from the base of Dick’s cock up to the tip, asking in a way only _Damian_ could, “Enjoying yourself, Grayson?”

Dick slapped a hand over his eyes, shaking. “Stop _talking_.”

Humming, Damian slid Dick back into his mouth, clearly too eager to blow Dick and Dick, well, it’d been a while since he’d been with anyone, much less gotten a blowjob. And Damian felt _good_ , sucking hollowly around Dick’s cock. His hands were still spread over Dick’s thighs, gripping hard as he worked his head back and forth.

The noises Damian made – desperate and throaty groans - echoed into the air accompanied by the hitch of Dick’s breathing. Damian’s enthusiasm was clear, his enjoyment of the act near obvious with how loud he was, and his words earlier kept echoing through Dick’s head.

 _Enjoying yourself, Grayson_?

Dick squeezed his eyes shut, trying his best to stop from thrusting hard into Damian’s mouth.

_Yes, yes, yes, yes._

Duke stretched in front of them, curving around and standing at Dick’s side, leaning against Dick’s arm. His skin was hot. “He always looks so good like this,” Duke muttered. Damian let out a low whine at the praise. Duke’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Thinks he likes more than when I get my mouth on _him_.”

Dick shuddered.

The images were flashing through his head. Damian on his knees, Duke’s cock in his mouth, stretching his mouth as wide as it was stretched around Dick’s cock now, sucking wetly and eager, oh so _fucking_ eager.

 

Damian’s brows were furrowed in desperation, his ministrations growing more desperate as he got _louder-_ Had he ever been this _loud_?

Dick couldn’t remember. Couldn’t think past wanting his hands in Damian’s hair, just to tug him forward and keep him _there_ as he finished off in Damian’s mouth.

Damian’s hands dropped from Dick’s thighs and his lashes fluttered as he stared up at Dick, eyes _wet_. He swallowed around Dick’s cock once more. Whined _loud._ Dick’s stomach twisted, a coiling ball of heat swirling through his core. _Fuck_ , _fuck, fuck_.

Duke leaned down, his breath hot on Dick’s ear. “You know,” he started, voice low, “he really likes it when you pull on his hair.”

The image he’d been dying for flashed before his eyes - Dick’s fingers threaded through Damian’s hair instead of gripping the arm rest cushions uselessly, Damian’s mouth pressed all the way to the base of Dick’s cock, where he wanted it to be - and he choked, arms tensing as he let go. Damian’s eyes fluttered shut as he swallowed, pulling off with a quiet gasp.

His mouth looked bruised, deep red. His eyes, hazy, cleared as Duke stepped out from behind the chair. With one hand, Damian reached out for him, whimpering low. As Dick’s eyes dropped to the ground, his body relaxing, he could see Damian palming himself desperately.

Duke tugged him up and shoved him onto the bed. Damian didn’t protest, going with it eagerly. Didn’t wait for Duke either, just spread his legs, fingers sliding inside of himself. And like Dick, Duke froze, watching the sight before him with blatant hunger.

It was something Dick had never experienced before in Damian. A desire for pleasure.

Even with something simple, Damian played it lowkey. Didn’t seem to strive as much for feeling good as everyone else did.

And _this-_ it wasn’t even something he could have ever _imagined_ , wasn’t sure _any_ of them would’ve been able to. Stephanie had been right earlier. Even if they had debated amongst themselves whether or not Damian’s relationships with Colin, Maya, even _Jon_ , were anything deeper than idle friendship, it’d been jokes, nothing serious.

And so Dick was stunned in his chair.

There was no way that the person splayed out on the bed, _fingering_ into himself with clear desperation to be _fucked_ , staring at Duke like he _needed_ it, could be Damian.

“Are you- _ha_ , just gonna stand there?” Damian’s eyelids fluttered as he breathed heavy, voice hitiching low with a softened gasp. As Duke shifted, peeling the condom over his cock, Damian narrowed his eyes, at the edge of his patience, and growled, “ _Fuck me_.”

Dick squeezed his eyes shut.

There it was.

His Damian.

When he opened his eyes again, Duke was sliding his fingers into Damian, spreading him wide. Damian was _wet_ , the light catching him and _glistening_ , the sound of Duke working his way into Damian _slick_ in the air. And Damian was gasping, clawing at the bedsheets.

“ _Just-”_ He gasped, groaning as he arched off the bed, whining low. “ _Fuck me, fuck me_.” He reached out, grabbing the back of Duke’s neck and yanking him forward. “ _Now_.”

Duke laughed low, pushing Damian down and sliding into him with slow ease. Damian groaned, squirming until Duke pinned him down with a tight squeeze against Damian’s waist. “If you keep moving,” he grumbled, “this isn’t going to _last_.”

Damian threw his head back, moaning low. “I don’t _care_.”

“I do,” Duke breathed. He eased out slow. “Want you to enjoy this, sweetheart.”

Damian slapped at Duke’s side, scowling as he covered his eyes, _embarrassed_. “Shut up,” he grumbled.

“Baby doll,” Duke teased. He slid back in. “Honey, sugar, pretty boy.”

“Fuck you,” Damian breathed hollowly.

“Fucking _you_ , sexy,” Duke murmured, sucking on the hollow point of Damian’s throat as he thrusted back and forth, slow and steady. “This okay?”

“Yes,” Damian said. His eyes were closed, fingers gripping desperate at the sheets. His teeth worried at his bottom lip.

Duke’s arms flexed as he squeezed Damian’s waist, kissing along his neck. All the while Damian was shuddering, back on the edge. Four times, Dick remembered. He squeezed his eyes shut. Two times before Dick even got there, twice while he was and now onto the fifth.

Dick shivered, the air cooling over his still exposed cock. Two out of five was fine. Three out of five was bad. So so so bad.

He needed to go.

Slowly he stood up, tucking himself back into his pants.

 _Leave_ , he thought, watching. _Leave now, leave now, leave now, you absolute moron_.

He didn’t listen, standing still as Damian’s breaths hitched low and he clawed with both at Duke’s back, voice _loud_ as he moaned, pushing back on Duke’s cock.

“You just gonna stand there?” Duke said, voice clear as he pressed a kiss to Damian’s cheek.

“Is that your way of telling me to leave?” Dick asked, a gnawing feeling burning in the pit of his stomach.

Duke’s eyes snapped over at for a split second before sliding back to Damian’s face. “I’m saying do something,” he muttered, rocking back into Damian shallowly.

Damian’s fingers curled over the back of his neck and he let out a low muffled whine, biting his lip. Dick’s feet took him to the bed and he blinked, frozen at the side. The low moonlight was curling over the two in front of him like a soft graze.

Dick moved his hand over the edge of the sheets. They were soft to the touch, silky, and the creases smoothed out where his hand touched until he bumped his fingertips against Damian’s thigh. Damian’s voice hitched, eyes squeezed shut. His breathing deepened, fingernails digging into Duke’s skin.

And it’d be so easy.

All Dick had to do was put his hand over Damian’s clit and _get him off_.

But he glanced at Duke, who was rubbing his thumb in soothing circles over Damian’s hip.

No.

If Dick had never shown up, if he’d left, if he’d stayed where he was in the room, Duke would be the one to bring Damian to that point. Over and over and _over_ again.

This wasn’t about him.

This was about _them._

He slipped his hand up Damian’s thigh and over his stomach. Damian’s shirt, oversized and clearly Duke’s, flattened with his palm until Dick was gripping Damian’s breast. And when Damian didn’t tell him no, to stop, to not touch it, he squeezed it gently and pressed his mouth over the cloth. The fabric felt fuzzy against his tongue, but he could feel the heat off Damian’s skin soak through.

Damian groaned, a guttural “ _Fuck_.”

Dick dropped to his knees, almost sliding away before he caught himself. He pushed his stomach against the bed, tilting his head up. “Is this okay?” he murmured.

Damian squeezed his eyes shut tighter and growled, “ _Yes_.”

Duke snorted, leaning over Dick’s head to pepper Damian’s face with soft kisses. Dick used that to put his mouth back over Damian’s breast. His free hand slid up under the shirt and gently grasped the other. Damian hissed, his stomach tensing under Dick’s arm.

Dick just rolled Damian’s nipple between his fingers as his teeth nipped at the other through his shirt. Damian’s skin radiated heat, his voice biting back whines and low groans as Duke started thrusting a little faster. Damian shifted his legs, his knees bumping into Dick’s side

Dick drew back, fumbling at his pants as his cock ached hard again.

Why did he even zip them back up?

Shoving them down to his thighs, he looked out to the scene before him. Duke hovered over Damian, both of them so close now that Dick’s head wasn’t in the way. Duke’s head was ducked beside Damian’s, his voice low and murmuring something Dick couldn’t understand, Damian’s breaths hitched.

His eyes started fluttering, voice nearly keening, desperate.

Dick groaned at the sounds.

“Damian,” Duke breathed. He cupped Damian’s cheek, their noses brushing together. “ _Mi amor_.”

Damian shook, hands flying down but Duke caught his wrists and pinned them over his head, sucking wetly on the junction of Damian’s throat. Damian gasped, the sound high and sharp sending Dick’s head swirling. He clamboured back onto the bed, grabbing Damian’s hands from Duke’s grip.

Before he grabbed at Damian’s waist again, Duke sent him a sharp grin, all teeth, and Dick’s stomach twisted.

“I wanna feel you,” Duke murmured, his head ducked low. His hips snapped, sharp. Damian shuddered, releasing a strangled groan. “Wanna feel you come for me, mi amor.” Damian’s fingers curled over Dick’s. “ _Eres tan guapo_.”

Dick squeezed Damian’s hands, transfixed on the way his stomach clenched, the way he breathed out, shuddered and whimpering, like he was desperate, right on the edge and so close to falling over. So close to coming.

“Are you there?” Duke whispered hotly into Damian’s ear. “Are you gonna come for me, Dami?”

Damian let out a strangled whine, mumbling, “ _Yes_ ” as he heaved out a breath. “Duke- please, _habibi,_ _fuck_.”

“You feel so good,” Duke said. Damian’s grip tightened as Duke released one hand from his waist and began thumbing at Damian’s clit. “Perfect.”

Damian _sobbed_. He was shaking, trembling all over and Duke was whispering into his skin, the words melting together, his own desperation evident. Damian was so close, it was obvious, but he’d come too many times to slip over the edge so easily now, needed more, needed-

Dick squeezed Damian’s hand, his voice low. “He wants you to come, Damian.” Damian whined, the sound high. “You wanna come for your boyfriend, right? Wanna be a good bird-” He dropped his voice lower, leaned close to Damian’s ear and whispered, “-and _come_.”

Damian shouted, the sound nonsense. He arched his back, his grip vice-tight on Dick’s hand and gasped _loud_. Duke’s free hand fell back to his waist, mumbling “ _Fuck, fuck_ ” as he moved faster. Damian dropped Dick’s hand, grabbing at the back of Duke’s neck and pulling him in for a sloppy wet kiss. Duke breathed hard, hips snapping and Damian whined, pressing his forehead to Duke’s collarbone.

They both fell boneless against the bed, wrapped up in each other.

Dick squeezed his eyes shut, his own attempt at giving them privacy. When the bed shifted, he opened them back up. Duke pulled out of Damian, laughing quietly. Damian rolled his eyes but shortly followed suit, both of them overcome with soft giggles. Duke tied off the condom and wrapped it up in a tissue. It landed in the trash a foot away and he sighed, rubbing Damian’s thigh and smiling lowly at him.

Dick shifted off the bed.

They ignored him, Duke leaning back over to kiss the top of Damian’s head before standing up. Damain scowled. “Where-”

“Towel,” Duke said, easing around the end of the bed. “You’re all sweaty. It’s gross.”

“You’re gross,” Damian muttered, rolling onto his stomach.

Dick pulled up his pants, the pressure around his cock dissipating, and pushed Duke back towards the bed. “It’s fine. I can get it.” He patted Duke’s arm. “Damian needs you,” he murmured low.

Duke nodded and smiled in thanks before clambouring back onto the bed, throwing himself out on Damian who shouted in annoyance and smacked at him before letting himself be succumbed to kisses.

Dick backed out of the room and turned the corner to the bathroom. He was still partially hard but it was going down with the mood having faded. He’d live without getting off this time. He pulled a couple dry washcloths from the cupboard and wet them thoroughly. As he rung them each out so they weren’t _sopping_ , he wondered what he was supposed to do now.

Flee?

Turn himself in?

Just go home and pretend like nothing happened?

He leaned against the sink counter and wondered how many smart people could raise him to be so _dumb_.

Rubbing his face weary, he pushed his way out of the bathroom and flicked off the light. Stepping back into the bedroom, he stilled at the site of Damian curled into Duke’s chest. They both glanced over at him before Duke pulled the blankets Damian had tucked around himself off.

Damian huffed but rolled onto his back, ignoring Dick’s attempt to pass him the washcloth. Instead of taking it either, Duke just grinned wide and kept nuzzling Damian’s cheek. The thought of chucking both cloths at them was tempting but Dick climbed onto the bed and gently ran the washcloth over Damian’s skin. Damian’s breathing began to lull.

Duke stretched out and gestured to himself as Dick handed the other washcloth over to him. “What, no cleaning for me?”

“No,” Damian murmured. “Stay dirty.”

Duke snorted but looked back at Dick, pinning his hands behind his head. Dick paused. He shouldn’t. Cleaning off Damian was enough. Was _more_ than enough.

But Dick was rarely one to back down from a clear _challenge_. He shifted over, just enough, and grasped Duke’s cock, pulling up. Duke’s eyes widened, his lip bitten bloody as Dick slowly stared him down while he cleaned him off.

When he was done, he threw the cloths over to the pile of clothes and settled on the edge of the bed.

“You leaving?” Duke asked, tugging on the blankets as Damian rolled over into his side, cuddling into him.

Dick looked at both of them, Duke’s eyes patient and Damian’s dark and clear.

It was okay.

He could go.

He could leave.

Dick dropped his gaze back to the ground. “I can’t sleep with my pants on,” he said after a few seconds, standing and kicking them off.

With a tentative smile, Duke watched him patient as Dick pulled the blankets to the side, snuggling into it. Just as he pressed his chest to Damian’s back, Damian muttered, “Did you lock the door before you followed us in here?”

Dick paused. “Um…”

“I got it,” Duke grunted, sliding out of the bed and walking, comfortably naked, to the front door.

Damian sighed, pressing back at Dick’s chest. “You’re warm,” he said.

“Too warm?”

“No,” Damain admitted quietly. He reached back and pulled one of Dick’s arms over his waist, sighing contentedly. He said nothing else, just hummed happily when Duke slipped back into the bed and kissed the top of his head before nodding quickly off to sleep.

Dick stroked Damian’s hand with his thumb. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him fall asleep this quickly.

Duke shrugged. “He always does with me. Even before we got together.” He cuddled Damian closer, his eyes fluttering shut. “Good night, Dick.”

Dick bit his lip before nodding patiently and nuzzling the back of Damian’s head. “Good night.”

\--

When Dick woke up, part of him wondered what the heat pressed directly to his front was. No smashing hangover so there was no way he got ridiculously drunk after patrol and slept with… some… one…

His eyes snapped open and it took all his willpower not to jolt up in a cold panic. Damian’s hair fuzzed over his vision. He shifted up and caught site of Duke’s face, mouth downturned like whatever he was dreaming about was disappointing him immensely.

Damian’s arms were thrown out over Duke’s side and Duke’s leg had found it’s way over Damian and Dick’s thighs. Dick swallowed thickly and dislodged his arm from where it was tucked between the two in front of him and slowly shimmied his legs out from under Duke’s.

He rose to a steady stand and ran his fingers through his hair. This was a mess. Where were his pants? Why didn’t he just go home? What had he been thinking? Did Duke have stuff for pancakes?

He groaned lowly into his hands. Pancakes.

Right.

Because that’s where his focus needed to drift to right now.

Still. He _was_ hungry…

Before vanishing to the kitchen, he grabbed his pants and wriggled his way into them quietly. Rummaging through the fridge, he pulled out the necessary ingredients for classic pancakes – milk, eggs, salt, sugar, flour and vanilla extract. He closed his eyes, pushed a hand through his hair and relaxed.

It took him a couple minutes to find a good-sized mixing bowl between the twenty stuffed in the bottom cabinets. When Bruce set Duke up in the apartment during his freshman year, he’d gone a little overboard and bought too much. Dick had figured it was just an instinct thing. Dick had refused Bruce’s help when he struck out on his own. Jason had _died_ before Bruce could get the chance to splurge on him like that. Tim had just informed them all that he was moving out the _day that he moved out_. Cass just moved in with Tim and then later Stephanie and Damian still lived at home.

Duke was pretty much Bruce’s first, and possibly, _only_ shot.

So he went really overboard on what was needed to live on your own.

Which meant it took another couple of long minutes to find the right measuring spoons, wondering why Bruce would even get Duke _metric_. They lived in _America_. Who used the metric system?

Besides scientists, probably.

He grabbed one of the frying pans Duke had hanging up and laid it out on the stove before he began dumping everything in the bowl. He poured in just a little bit too much vanilla extract, the best amount for pancakes, and quickly began mixing it all together with a fork.

The act of churning it all together was relaxing. Reminded him of cooking with his dad, cooking with Alfred.

“Hey.”

He paused his mixing, glancing up at Duke who smiled sleepily at him. Dick grinned loosely back. A short wave fluttered from his fingertips. “Morning.”

“Pancakes?”

Dick nodded, going back to his mixing. “Yep.”

Duke leaned against the counter, pouring himself a glass of milk. “Nice.” He pressed the glass to his lips for a moment before saying, “You’re still here.”

Dick swallowed thickly. “Well, ya know, couldn’t leave without breakfast.”

“Right,” Duke said. He watched Dick carefully as he drank his milk.

Suddenly winded, Dick pressed the bowl to the counter and faced Duke fully. “How?”

“You’re gonna have to be more specific, Dickiebird,” Duke said.

Dick crossed his arms. “How did you guys get together?”

A slow grin spread over Duke’s face. “I believe there was a no questions clause in the statement of the losers,” he pointed out. After a moment, he relaxed against the counter, putting his empty glass down. “He asked me out. I said yes.”

Dick eyed him. “That easy?”

Duke shrugged. “He asked me one night after patrol how to get over someone and I told him that he should just ask out someone else he was interested. Next night he asked me to dinner. I’d just scored a whooping one hundred percent on _another_ test so I was content to be pampered and fed free fancy food to celebrate my success in class so I said yes.”

He bit his lip, still smiling low. “We went to dinner, he asked me about school, I asked him about some cases he was working on, we had a good time and he walked me back here like a gentleman. And I thought that’d be it. But it wasn’t.

“He stopped me and asked me if you ever get over your first love and I told him that sometimes you didn’t. That I thought it depended on what they meant to you. And he said okay and then two weeks later he asked me to see a movie with him. And I said yes.”

Duke’ sent his sappy smile directly to Dick’s face. “That easy.”

“You didn’t- you didn’t think he was just using you?”

Duke rolled his eyes. “I did. The first time. But then he asked me that and I knew it was about you because the only person who _hasn’t_ noticed Damian’s love for you is _you_ and I realized that Damian…” His voice trailed off before he found himself again. “Damian doesn’t fall for people easily. And if he wanted to move on, there were other ways. And it clicked, ya know, when he asked me that. Because, I guess, he thought that if he went out with me, his feelings for you would go away _because he liked me too_ and I’d become number one.

“But it didn’t work.” Duke shrugged. “I think that pisses him off sometimes.”

“So what?” Dick asked. “You just went out with him to do him a favour?”

“Damian’s hot, Dick,” Duke said flatly. “Anyone with functioning eyes can see that. I mean, even a _blind_ person could probably tell just by how he _is_. I went out with him because I thought he was attractive, not because I wanted to make him feel better. I’m not an asshole. I don’t lead people on. I said yes because I _wanted_ to. I said yes again _because I wanted to_. I asked him the third time because I wanted to kiss him already and he kept not doing it the other two times.“

Dick rubbed his face. “Okay, so if you like him so much, why would you-” He covered his mouth, nervous. “Why would you try to get me to sleep with him?”

“You slept with _us_ ,” Duke corrected. He gestured around the room. “ _Us_.”

“Duke.”

Duke laughed hollowly. “He loves you. He’ll always love you. You know, he spent an entire hour complaining about how much he hated that he still cared for you so deeply, even though he was happy with me.” Duke licked his lips. “And you make him comfortable. You always have. Sex is weird for him, okay? He’s _trans_. And _I’m_ the first person he said he’d ever wanted to actually _fuck_ him. Not you.”

He pointed at Dick. “No, with you, he was always doing the deed but _me_? I get to be the first. But I knew he was nervous about it and I knew that no matter how eager he was for us to have sex, he’d be nervous. So I thought if you were there, he’d be more relaxed and it’d be easier on him. And when I proposed the possibility, he said it was okay.”

Duke crossed his arms. “Believe me, if he wanted you out, I would’ve forced you out of the damn state, if I had to.”

“So it was just sex?” Dick clenched one hand into a tight fist, not sure how to feel. “Just a one-night thing to make him comfortable. To make him happy.”

For a moment, all was quiet. Then Duke rolled his eyes. “It’s whatever you want it to be, Dick. Damian is still head over heels for you. It’s annoying but I’m used to it by now,” he said. “If you want to date him, cool beans. Just know that if you try to edge me out of my spot as priority boyfriend, I will not hesitate to bitchslap you, lights-” He fluttered his fingertips. Golden light hued from from them spotting over Dick’s arm. “-included.

“If you want to date the both of us however, that’s even cooler beans. If you just want last night to be last night, that’s fine too. Damian’s not going to sulk about it. We talked about what might happen, we talked about the possibilities and he knows that it was always a possibility.”

Dick bit at his lip. “Okay,” he said slowly. “So if you guys already had agreed to have sex, and already had discussed that _I_ was going to be tricked into this, what was the point of the whole kidnapping charade? I mean-” He shifted as the edge of the counter began to hurt his side. “-you guys always could’ve just done something else to tell everyone that you were dating.”

“Partly fun,” Duke admitted, “partly me taking Damian’s words to a literal sense.” He shifted, grinning widely again. “The first time I ate him out was kind of an accident. We were fooling around after my patrol and I was too tired to focus and I got ahead of myself. Afterwards he said it was okay but I wanted to discuss boundaries anyway because we should’ve done that before I’d put my mouth there. He told me that he was fine when I touched him there, that I was the first person he’d ever actually _wanted_ to touch him there. That some days he was fine with his breasts, other days he needed them to be covered up and ignored. I asked him about sex, about penetration, if that was okay.

“And he got edgy about it. Told me that if it was fine if it was _me_ and then when I broached the subject a little more, began arguing about how even if it wasn’t fine, it wouldn’t be fair that I’d always be the one taking it and all that crap.” Duke laughed to himself. “Since fairness has never really been on Damian’s radar unless it was about _him,_ I figured something was wrong and I told him that I was fine with being the only one taking it. Being fucked in the ass is pleasurable.

“Eventually, he admitted he was just nervous about the whole idea because, like I said, I’m the only one he’s ever thought about letting penetrate him and it sort of freaked him out a little bit. I asked him why. He said it made him feel like a girl. We had a long talk about _that_ wherein I wound up joking that if I could prove I could handle him, did that mean I could fuck him and he said yes so-” Duke shrugged. “I proved it. I fucked him. We had fun. You just happened to be there.”

“I just happened to be there,” Dick repeated.

Duke nodded. “It’s true.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly the eye-opening story Dick had been going for but it cleared things up in any sense. He shifted. “So when you say _only_ person-”

“Yes, Dick, I am the only person he ever thought about letting fuck him, despite having been in love with you for the last seven years and despite having crushed on many others before me,” Duke said with a shit-eating grin that had Dick wanting to smack him a little bit.

“Well, maybe that’s because-”

“Nope, he was interested even before we started dating,” Duke noted. He cocked his head, still grinning wide like an _ass_. “Are you jealous?”

Dick snorted then cleared his throat. “Maybe a little.”

Duke smirked. “I love him,” he said, so easy. “I know he loves me, even if he can’t say it outloud. And I kinda hope we last for the long run. So continue to be jealous because I’m not losing him to _you_.”

Dick hummed in understanding. Duke’s words weren’t vicious, just factual like a lot of things about him and Dick could respect that. The door creaked open before he could say anything else, ask anything else, and Damian stepped out, eyes squeezed shut as he stretched and yawned. As he stumbled into Duke’s chest, he blinked blearily at Dick.

“You’re still here.”

Dick picked up his bowl. “Pancakes.”

Damian rolled his eyes and nuzzled into Duke’s chest. “You left me.”

“I didn’t leave you,” Duke said. “You elbowed me in the face.”

Damain huffed. “I wanted to go again. You’ve disappointed me, Thomas.”

“Oh, really?” Duke asked. He grabbed Damian’s ass and Damian didn’t make any motion that he’d even noticed, leaning up and catching Duke’s mouth.

“Yes,” he breathed as he slid back to the ground. “You’ll be making it up to me now, of course.” He dragged Duke back towards the bedroom. “Let’s go.”

Duke laughed but followed obediently, pushing the bedroom door shut with a _click_. Dick ignored where his thoughts were directing and slapped a slab of butter onto the frying pan. It melted under the newly emerged heat. He spread the bubbling oil around the pan then slowly began dripping in the batter.

Four decently sized pancakes and about three stubby ones in and his phone rang. He doubled back and rifled through his pants pockets for his phone. Buttery oil slicked to the floor. He held the spatula over the pan and hit answer without looking at the screen. “Hello?”

“Dick, it’s Bruce.”

Dick froze where he stood, wondering if he had time to escape and flee the country. Settling the spatula down, he cleared his throat and shifted nervously. “Oh. Hey. Bruce. What’s up?”

“I tried calling your home line but no one answered,” Bruce’s voice clipped. “I thought you had the weekend off.”

Dick rubbed his free hand on his pants, feeling like he had when he’d been arrested for drinking at seventeen and was calling Bruce to come bail him out. “I do have the weekend off. I’m just not home. That _is_ allowed, ya know.”

“Yes but you’re normally home until about ten on your days off,” Bruce cut in.

Dick coughed loudly, clearing his throat, stalling for time. Bruce knew where he was, he just wanted Dick to admit it. “I’m not- I’m not home. I’m.” He swallowed thickly, gripping his hair and squeezing his eyes shut as he leaned into the counter. The feeling of being seventeen years too young and drunkenly hungover and _embarrassed_ was slowly sinking back into his skin. “I’m at Duke’s. I spent the night with him. And Damian.”

“I see,” Bruce said.

Dick winced.

It was the tone. Nothing Batman or Bruce Wayne about it. Just Bruce. The tone of the man who bailed him out and just looked him over, weary eyed and exhausted, and said nothing as he drove Dick’s miserable ass back home. The tone of the man who deflated when Dick grabbed his things and _left_.

The tone of quiet disappointment.

Dick hated that tone. He hated it on his mother, his father, Alfred and, most of all, Bruce.

The words, the excuses dripped out of his mouth before he could rationalize his own thoughts. “Look, I didn’t sleep with them. I mean, I _watched_ but I didn’t do anything- well, nothing _major-_ ” The flash of Damian’s eyes looking up at him, his mouth wet and warm around Dick’s cock, throbbed past Dick’s mind. He snapped his eyes open. “It- _fuck_ , look Bruce, I know you’re mad and probably upset but I didn’t- I didn’t mean to do anything. And I didn’t. _Not really_.”

Dick swapped hands, rubbing his palm over his jeans. Thirty-two years old and still feeling like a child.

How pathetic.

“I’m not mad,” Bruce said. Dick’s breathing stopped. “I mean, I’m a little disappointed, but I’m not upset.”

“You’re-” Dick’s eyes narrowed. “You’re _not_?”

“No.” Bruce cleared his throat and continued on. “Honestly, Dick, I could care less if you sleep with either of them so long as you weren’t doing it while they weren’t legal. And the law allows it from the age of sixteen, which Damian hasn’t been for four months and Duke for four years. I have no desire to have you arrested so, legally you’re fine.”

“I know the age of consent laws, Bruce.” Dick tapped his fingers rapidly against the counter, mildly aware that his pancakes were moving steadily into burning but too frazzled to really do anything about it. “I know how they work. I am a police officer after all.”

Bruce hummed low over the phone then cleared his throat one more time. “Look, Dick, I won’t admit that this situation is not ideal and that I’d like you to really consider what you’re doing before you go any further but, well, Damian hasn’t been exactly subtle when it comes to how he feels about you so I’ve been expecting something along these lines for a while.”

“You’ve been expecting me to let Damian suck my dick,” Dick said, having lost all sense of subtly, “and to watch him fuck his boyfriend of ten months?”

He could practically _see_ Bruce’s wince and scowl, the deepset lines on his face growing deeper as the weariness pitched between his brows. “That wasn’t necessary.”

Dick grabbed the spatula and flipped the pancake over before it _died_ , annoyance slamming into his chest. “ _Bruce-_ ”                                                                                                                                                       

“Dick,” Bruce cut in, Batman voice silencing anything Dick had been ready to say. “As I said, this isn’t an ideal situation. But I trust you. I’ve _always_ trusted you. Aside from Alfred, you are my oldest friend and I trust you with my life. If I had to make a list of people I’d prefer Damian to date, well-” He made a vague noise. “-you wouldn’t be the top person but you’d make the list either way. Damian trusts you completely in a way he doesn’t do with _anyone_.”

Bruce sighed low. “Even me. So, please believe me when I say, I don’t care. I expected this to happen in some way, even if it didn’t last or lasted just a night or something. Damian can be rather ruthless when he wants something. So, _once again,_ I don’t care. Just _please. Please_ do not do anything with _either_ of them at the manor. For my sanity, if nothing else.”

“I-” Dick curled into himself and closed his eyes. A small smile edged at the break of his lips. “I won’t, Bruce.”

“Thank you.” There was a tense silence between the two of them before Bruce coughed awkwardly. “Is Damian awake?”

Dick pushed a hand through his hair. “Yeah, he’s in the shower. He might be-” Damian stepped out into the kitchen, skin damp and back tucked up against Duke’s chest. “Nevermind, he’s right here.”

“Let me talk to him.”

Dick held out his phone. Damian stared at it then flickered his eyes up at Dick as Duke sucked a wet spot on his neck. Dick shook the phone at Damian rapidly and, huffing loud so _everyone_ would know his annoyance, Damian snatched it from his hands and held it to his ear.

“Yes?” A scowl dropped onto his mouth immediately. “Father.”

Duke went still. Then glanced up at Dick with questioning eyes. Dick shrugged and went back to flipping pancakes.

“Yes, I understand. Very disappointed.” Damian played with Duke’s fingers splayed on his stomach. “Mhmm.” His eyes fluttered up at Dick then coasted down to the floor. “I won’t. I will. I will. Father, for fuck’s sake, I’m not a moron.” His scowl deepened. “Uh huh. Yes. Yes. Fine.” A long slew of silence then, “Goodbye.”

He hung up and dropped the phone to the counter, out of Dick’s reach and leaned into Duke’s chest.

Dick waited a few seconds before asking, “What did he say?”

“The usual,” was all Damian said. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Duke’s neck, tugging him down for an awkward kiss.

It was strange seeing Damian so openly affectionate. Perhaps it was the solitude of being alone with Duke, his boyfriend, and Dick, his…

Well, his _something_.

Dick turned back to his pancakes, adding a fifth to the stack. His mind kept dipping into that area of thought. He couldn’t process what he wanted to be. It was too early. Too late.

He wasn’t ready.

Or he was read, he was just…

He glanced back at Damian who’d be shifted around and was being peppered with soft kisses by Duke, grimace-smiling as he was held. Duke kissed the top of Damian’s head and glanced up at Dick.

 _It’s whatever you want it to be_.

What did he want?

“So,” Duke started, “you staying for pancakes or is this a make-em-and-bolt situation?”

Dick shook his head. “I’ll stay.”

Damian stilled in Duke’s grasp. He titled his head just enough so Dick could see one green-green eye watching him carefully. Duke cocked his head. “And then?”

The windows behind him were drawn open, exposing the rare sunny Gotham daylight into the room. It’s orange glow lit up the floor softly and drenched everything in peaceful warm. Duke’s eyes stayed careful on him and Damian shifted his face a little more, just watching. Dick smiled low and flipped another pancake in the pan.

“And then,” he started, voice airy, “I guess… I’ll stay.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> SO, lowkey this was just an excuse to write DDD porn and get my newest never-gonna-amass-more-than-me-as-a-shipper rarepair out into the world. But I do hope you all enjoyed it~~ There were so many ways I wanted to end it, especially with an metaphor about pancakes that related to Dick's staying but this was the one that kept! (And yes I know Dick's costume is actually a leotard under a tunic but as hard as I tried, I just couldn't see Damian wearing a leotard ever so I tweaked it a little bit)
> 
> Also from my readings and vague research, Gotham is located in New Jersey apparently so a quick glance as the age of consent laws wikipedia page tells me that, yes yes, 16 is the legal age of consent in New Jersey so it all works out.
> 
> [Tumblr](http://happyk44.tumblr.com/post/171283205442/stay-hk44-batman-all-media-types-archive-of) || [Insta](https://instagram.com/hk44_art)


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